Black Crown
by Evelos
Summary: From the nest they fall, and upon the ground, their will to soar is dampened, yet not lost. AU.
1. Introduction

A woman walked along the winding path, stepping along the bits of concrete and grass, even as a strong wind ruffled at the back of her thin, red jacket.

"Hey, Lightning?"

Lightning paused in place for a moment, just long enough to cast a blank gaze over her shoulder. "I told you not to follow me."

A boy walked out from behind a nearby pillar. "You're really leaving?" He stood only tall enough to reach her shoulders, but his face was etched with a sense of concern, and his eyes, they already spoke of countless sights, for better or worse. "What about your promise?"

"My promise." Lightning moved forward again, and the corner of her lip curled as a second set of footsteps joined her own. "I don't recall any of my promises being time-sensitive, Mister Estheim."

"Well, I told _you_... Call me Hope." Hope frowned, glancing away. "Are you _always_ like this, or is it just for my benefit?"

Lightning shook her head. "You'd better get back home."

"Why?" Hope blinked against the growing wind, and he hurried to keep up with her pace. "You're hiding something, Lightning..."

She paused. "You can call me Light."

"Okay..." Hope glanced down, gazing at the stretch of winding, metallic latticework, built into the ground. "Why are you leaving?"

Lightning knelt down, and she reached for the handle of a small hatch within the framework. "Business."

Hope could only as Lightning lifted a large, white dove into her hands, before she pushed the metal door shut. "But... You'll be back?"

Lightning nodded, and she held up one of the bird's wings, gently positioned between her index finger and thumb.

"Soon enough to keep teaching me?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I still don't know just how much benefit you'll get from learning swordplay... But you have my word." She suddenly let her hand fall to the side, and the dove leapt out, fluttering out into the air, before it sharply banked off to the side, circling above. "Things are peaceful, at least right now... You should let the rest of us worry about that sort of stuff."

Hope tipped his head to watch the soaring bird. "But will it always be like this?"

Lightning glanced away to hide her smirk. "Smart kid, I'll give you that..." She shook her head. "Get on back. I should be home before long."

"Okay." Hope stood up with a nod. "Thank you, Lightning."

"Light."

Hope nodded again. "If your sister asks..?"

Lightning began to walk forward. "I'm doing errands, like I told you." She lifted one of her hands above her forehead, gazing up at the circling dove. "Although, if you want to get on my _good_ side, try keep an eye out for that lumbering oaf."

Hope frowned. "Snow? He's not so-" With a sharp gasp, Hope stumbled back when a thin, yet blinding pillar of light seared into his line of vision, but after a moment of utter silence, he found himself alone, save for a single, drifting feather.

"...Really?" Hope let out a sigh, but he reached out to catch the white plume between his fingers. "Always so abrupt..." He took a long, deep breath, before he turned away, walking back towards the wide, sun-swept terrace. "You'd think she was just trying to show off, or something."

There was a quiet giggle. "Light's always been like that."

Hope almost jumped at the nearby voice, and he spun around, only to look upon the face of a woman nearly identical to Lightning herself, although he could tell that the features before him were softer, and slightly more carefree.

"Sorry... I'm just trying to keep tabs on her." The young woman grinned at him from her perch atop a concrete pillar, and Hope couldn't help but stare at the large, almost artful bow strung across her chest and back. "Sisterly concern, you know."

After a moment, Hope took a step forward. "Serah... I'm just glad it's you."

Serah had her legs crossed at the knee, supporting her chin with the palm of her hands. "Who else would it be?"

Hope shrugged. "I don't know." He walked over to lean against the base of the pillar, and his gaze began to drift, until he was staring down at the patchy bits of grass, poking out from between the fractured concrete. "Light's just been... A little strange, lately."

Serah leaned forward a bit. "How so?"

"Well..." Hope narrowed his eyes to think. "The first few times I trained with her, Lightning was... _Completely_ focused on the task at hand, and she'd almost never let anything distract her from sparring."

Serah kept quiet for a moment. "But something changed?"

Hope nodded. "I actually managed to land a hit on her, yesterday." He glanced up to see Serah's expression. "Nothing serious! We were using wooden swords, not actual weaponry..."

Serah exhaled, before she nearly began to giggle. "Wow, she must have been _really_ distracted... I just wonder what this 'business' could be."

Hope's lungs tightened for a brief moment. "You don't think she'd..?"

Serah let out a quiet sigh, but she kept on smiling. "Lightning is a _lot_ of things, some of which is to keep things as calm as possible... Just in order to take on the work for herself." Serah glanced down at the markings upon Hope's wrist. "You said were from a different colony at first, right?"

Hope nodded, rubbing at his arm. "Yeah, it was... We were closer to the shell, so it took the brunt of the impact." He slowly began to sit down, sliding to rest at the very base of the pillar. "Not many of us made it out."

Serah's smile faded. "I'm sorry."

Hope shook his head. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

Serah began to chew at her bottom lip for a moment, before she moved to jump down from the pillar, landing squarely on her feet. "We really should get back."

Hope held the feather up in the palm of his hand. "She left this."

Serah reached out to gently take the white plume, but when a certain shade of color swept over the pinion, she moved her hand back, until the feather had reverted it its natural state. "Then... She meant for you to have it. Maybe for good luck?"

Hope shrugged. "Sometimes, I don't think she'll even tolerate me being around much longer..."

Serah laughed, with a quick shake of her head. "Don't say _that_; she's just a little rougher than most..." She gestured for Hope to follow her. "Light has to act tough for us, you know?"

Hope rose back to his feet, stowing the feather away in his shirt pocket. "Yeah, but I haven't seen any monsters around since the first couple of waves."

Serah grinned. "We sure scared them off, huh?" She tapped at the bowstring across her chest. "Light taught _me_ how to fight, too."

Hope started to smile. "I know Lightning doesn't care for him, but... Snow promised to teach me some grappling techniques, once he gets the chance."

Serah beamed, glancing over her shoulder. "He's probably one of best teachers you could find! Snow's got the size for it... More than enough, in fact."

Hope nearly laughed under his breath. "Sounds like those rumors are true."

Serah's expression wavered, before she turned back to face the thin, cobbled path. "I haven't heard any rumors."

"Well, I don't pay too much attention to them..." Hope glanced up to see a weathered, illegible sign-post, swinging just above the pathway. "But the word around town, people say that he made a certain... Public declaration."

Serah kept silent for a moment, before she turned back to reveal a grin, twirling once in place. "Man, you should've _seen_ her face... I nearly thought that I'd have to get in _between_ those two before Snow got his teeth knocked out!"

Hope looked down at his shoes. "Light's more than a little protective, I take it."

Serah nodded. "Well, in some ways she has to be... But she can be a little too thorough for her own good."

Hope moved to kick at a stray pebble as they walked further along the pathway. "She seems like a good sister."

Serah grinned. "Definitely... Light's really great."

After a moment of silence, Hope quietly cleared his throat. "What sort of bow is that?" He pointed at Serah's back. "You said she taught you how to use it."

Serah reached up to run her fingertips along the sleek, metal framework of the upper bow-limb. "It's a special weapon, just like hers... It's not _just_ a bow." Serah giggled. "Have you ever heard of a familiar, Hope?"

Hope glanced over his shoulder. "Of course... Lightning used hers a minute ago."

Serah tapped along the bowstring. "Well, a weapon is an extension of yourself, and by that, an extension of your being." She looked up, gazing at the nearby outline of a village, built within the cracks and crags of the canyon walls. "Let's just say that Mog is almost as protective as Lightning..."

As the words left Serah's lips, Hope almost swore that he could sense a strange sort of presence laughing alongside them, but he could find nothing amiss within the small, grassy ravine.

As they entered the village gates, Serah spoke again. "Say..." She turned to face the rows of thatched, wooden buildings that had lined the canyon walls, linked together by suspended, wooden bridges. "Did you know about the Vestige, just above the cliff, there?"

Hope looked up to follow her gaze, only to find himself staring at a rather imposing, yet tilted structure. "The old ruin up there? I thought it was supposed to be empty."

Serah shook her head. "Empty of supplies, maybe... But what if there's something really interesting inside?" She turned to face Hope with a tiny smile. "Lightning said that she saw some really cool sculptures in there when they went out scouting; maybe we can find something useful for when she gets back!"

Hope frowned at the ruins above. "But... If it came from-" He shook his head. "Back when Cocoon..."

Serah shrugged. "So? That will only make it more useful." She moved to point at the upper levels of the Vestige. "You remember what it was _like_, all those years ago... Right?"

Hope thought in silence for a moment, gazing off into the distance. "Yeah."

Serah nodded. "I mean, I'm not saying that we should go in without backup, of course..." She suddenly smiled at something within the village, and she jumped up to wave at someone in a nearby crowd. "Snow went in there, same as Light, so he'd know how to get in there in the first place!"

After a short moment, an almost ridiculously tall man walked up with a broad smile, moving over to draw Serah into a hug. "Hey, you!"

Serah grinned into the embrace. "Snow! Would you be up for a little exploration?"

Snow moved back after a moment, scratching at the stubble on his chin. "Suppose so... Where would we be heading?"

Serah pointed up at the canyon walls. "The Vestige... I've been wondering what else we could find inside it."

Snow's expression suddenly flickered into something a bit more serious, but after a moment, he shrugged it away. "Well... I did get sort of a weird vibe in there, but there _were_ a lot of empty rooms that we didn't poke around. It _could_ be worth a second look."

Serah started off right away, gently tugging Snow along by his wrist. "No need to introduce you guys, of course."

Snow glanced over at Hope, and they shared a nod. "Yeah, I've known kiddo here since before the fall..."

Hope moved over to follow after them. "It was only once our town had-" He paused, glancing away. "Well, Snow helped me out of that, and even out here... We met up again after the colony I was in disbanded."

Serah reached back to pat Hope's shoulder. "I'm glad you made it here."

Hope smiled a bit. "New Bodhum seems... Nicer, than any of the other outposts."

Snow laughed with a nod. "We like it that way! I can't really stand the bigwigs, myself... But Light and the others do a good job at keeping the peace."

Serah began to step up along a steep wooden staircase. "Although it's not like there's much threat of monsters anymore..."

Snow followed after her. "Yeah, but there's more than _just_ monsters out there." He shook his head. "But it's barely even an issue now with the cloaking fields."

Hope glanced up at the layers of both residential buildings and small, commercial shacks, but he almost frowned upon spotting a mass of thick, gray clouds above the canyon walls, but after a moment, he turned back to face his companions. "Well, what about... Down below?"

Snow paused. "Below."

Hope nodded.

Serah glanced back over her shoulder. "I think that Lightning would be the one to ask."

Hope looked back down at the village, or more specifically, the crumbling platform that lead out from the canyon entrance, which tapered down to form the edge of the land itself, before a vast, almost endless expanse of blue lay where it left off.

"I guess so." Hope closed his eyes for a moment, before he turned, walking to catch up with his friends. "I just can't help but wonder... What's it like down there?"

* * *

A layer of steam billowed out over the darkened alleyway, and Lightning nearly lifted her hand to cover her mouth, but after a brief moment of slow, calculated breathing, she began to walk forward with a nod. "Sazh?"

After a moment, a solitary figure moved out from the adjacent street. "Lightning... Good to see you again."

With a nod, Lightning reached down into her jacket pocket, retrieving a small, folded letter. "From Dajh... He seems to have settled nicely."

Sazh broke out into a grin when he opened the letter, gazing along the scrawled, yet heartfelt doodles that lay within. "You know... For a while, I didn't think you'd even find him."

Lightning's expression wavered. "How old was he, when..?"

Sazh let out a low, wistful sigh. "It was... At least a hundred or so years after the second war, so I'd say..." He reach up to scratch at the back of his head. "I... I fell during the third, you know."

Lightning glanced away, and she said nothing for a moment. "...He enjoyed the book you sent." She nearly smiled at the memory. "He said that if you had any more for me to deliver..."

Sazh nodded. "I've got a few back at home, but I have a feeling you called today for something else."

Lightning slowly bit at the inside of her cheek. "I'm ready to meet the one you talked about."

Sazh paused for a moment, before he let out a quiet sigh. "Light, the thing about us fallen..."

With a curt nod, Lightning began to walk forward. "I can handle _anything_ they throw at me."

"Light..." Sazh had to hurry to keep up with her. "I know you're one heck of a fighter, but these guys... They're on a whole different level."

Lightning shrugged. "What's the worst they can do?"

Sazh nearly reached over to grab at her shoulder, but he quickly thought better of it. "There's a _reason_ we were cast out, you know."

Lightning paused at his tone, and she turned, gazing into his stern, yet gentle eyes. "_'Etro will receive those that the great lord rejects.'_"

Sazh took a deep breath. "_Everything_ comes with a price."

Lightning nodded. "Then what are her terms? As if we had anything left to lose..."

Sazh cracked a grin. "That's one way to put it..." He turned, stretching out his shoulders. "But the grand old goddess of death is more of a 'final destination' than most." He suddenly squinted, turning back to examine Lightning's expression. "So what've you got planned in that thick skull of yours?"

Lightning looked away. "Probably something stupid, but it needs to be done." She began to walk forward again, but she kept her pace even and controlled. "Bhunivelze... Back in Cocoon, I saw a glimpse of something you might call insane."

Sazh quirked a single, bushy eyebrow. "And what might that have been?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "Expectant... He _knew_ it was happening, and he did _nothing_ to stop it."

Sazh opened his mouth to speak, but he found himself at a loss for words, so he closed it, before a strong, lingering flicker of worry crossed his mind. "Lightning, you can't really be-"

Lightning cleared her throat. "You know how many times I've heard that? You _can't_..." She narrowed her eyes. "'Lightning, you _can't_ save her; becoming a l'Cie is permanent...'" She hissed through her teeth. "'Oh, you _can't_ just leave the Sanctum's protection, you wouldn't last a day outside the walls!'"

Sazh frowned. "I get the-"

"You can't ever fly again; the great lord Bhunivelze-!" Lightning suddenly caught hold of her breath, blinking back the moisture from her eyes. "I've gotten _real_ good at doing things I _can't_."

With a slow, silent nod, Sazh followed after her, until the alleyway had broken off into a wide, bustling street. "You _really_ want to meet him?"

Lightning turned in place. "This needs to stay between us."

Sazh adjusted his stance to lean against a nearby street lamp. "The fallen are a tight-knit bunch, so just don't do anything too _crazy_."

Lightning nodded.

Sazh let out a long sigh. "Alright then... But you'd better be on your best behavior; it's not just _your_ neck on the line."

* * *

The Vestige's exterior looked nearly seamless at first sight, but once Snow had led the way off to the side of the gigantic structure, they found that a small, yet grandiose entrance awaited them just beneath a low archway, settled within the tower itself.

"Hey, just how old do you think this place is..?" Hope glanced around at the glittering green lights, inlaid within the metal walls around them. "I haven't seen anything like this kind of architecture before... Not even back in Cocoon."

Serah glanced up at the tall, circular tower, staring out into the vast number tunnels and hallways that led away from the circular main chamber. "I really don't know... But maybe there's some information in here about it."

Snow strode over to glanced inside a nearby pathway. "Well, I did see a weird control panel in one of the rooms over here; we can try to find it again if you like."

Serah walked forward to follow after Snow, smiling all the while. "This is exciting! We could _really_ find something helpful in here, _if_ this is actually from Cocoon..."

Hope glanced up, shivering as their footsteps echoed endlessly throughout the hall, before he glanced back to see that Serah was walking along on her tiptoes, with a spring in her every step.

"Light said you found a bunch of strange machines, right?" Serah looked up at Snow. "Can you show us where those are, too?"

Snow nodded. "Just don't poke them around too much... We have no way of telling if they're dangerous or not."

Hope spoke up. "Hey, I remember hearing back home about machines that could talk and do useful things... Maybe they're something similar?"

Snow nearly shuddered. "I think I'd rather they turn out to be the _non_-chatty kind..."

Serah tapped at his shoulder. "Where's your sense of _adventure?_" She grinned at him. "Who knows, maybe they'll be nice ones."

Snow grinned back after a moment. "I guess so, but I've had more than my fair share of unfriendly machines."

Serah nodded. "Don't worry... If they look nasty, we can always fight them off."

"Hey, Serah?" Hope pointed at her shoulder. "Your bow is glowing."

Serah turned to look down at her back. "It _is_ pretty dark in here." She began to trace along the metal curve of the bow. "Don't worry about it; Mog just wants to help out."

Hope tilted his head to the side. "What exactly _is_ Mog? I've only ever seen a couple of familiars..."

Serah smiled at him. "Well, Lightning has Odin, but he likes to stay with the other birds for the most part... But when it comes to familiars, looks are almost always deceiving." She giggled a bit. "I mean, Mog looks like a bow most of the time... But you should see him when something exciting is happening."

Snow held up his hands, revealing that his set of smooth, black gloves each bore a gleaming gemstone at the wrist. "Shiva and Nix."

Hope glanced between each glove. "Two? I've never heard of double familiars..."

Snow shrugged. "I guess it's a little unusual." He looked Hope over. "What about you, kiddo? Ever had the feeling that someone else was there with you?"

After a moment of thought, Hope shook his head. "I've heard that they're a little rare in the first place."

Serah nodded. "They usually take the form of a weapon, or something that you can easily carry with you." She smiled to herself, wandering away into the adjacent hall. "Light's a little different, though... She has her sword, but Odin can do a lot more than that."

Hope watched as Serah walked over to a nearby room, and he moved to follow her. "So he's not just a bird?"

Snow chuckled under his breath. "Well, what do birds have?"

As Serah moved to stand before a nearby panel, her breath almost hitched as the room slowly came alight, glowing brighter and brighter within the silent, dilapidated Vestige.

Hope's eyes went wide, and after a moment, he stepped back with a short gasp.

* * *

The tavern itself seemed to hold no secrets upon first glance, but when Lightning moved up to examine the inhabitants while she crossed beneath the rickety doorway, she was greeted by an overall feeling of unease, and yet somehow, a sense of familiarity.

Sazh cleared his throat. "Amodar, if we could have a word?" He walked over to stand in front of Lightning. "I know that you guys don't really keep up with the news from home, but-"

A stout, grizzled man rose to his feet. "Get the kid out of here, Sazh."

Lightning bit back a retort.

Sazh blinked twice. "_Sir_, if we could just-"

Amodar shook his head. "I don't have the will, or the patience to deal with _his_ lackeys... Not in this century or the next." His gaze slid over to meet Lightning's own. "I'll say this _once_; we have no interest in either redemption or repentance."

Lightning took a step forward. "I'm not here to-"

"No." Amodar waved his hand, stepping out to block her path. "I've heard this line a _thousand_ times, and if you think I'm exaggerating-" His eyes lit up as Lightning lurched forth, but before she could so much as raise her hand before him, his own fingers closed around her wrist, pinning her arm back against the wall with a sharp, snarling grunt.

Lightning let out a hiss, and she struck out with her free hand, but it was quickly yanked off the side as well, and she was pushed back, only to crash down against a nearby table.

"Eh, little Seraphim..." Amodar's lip curled as he seized hold of her throat. "Have you ever taken a _single_ step out of Cocoon? Out from the _Sanctum's_ gaze?" He frowned, tightening his grip. "I suppose you must have, to find your way down here..."

Lightning choked against the solid hold, but she struggled, pushing back, slowly rising up from the surface of the table, before she reached up to return the gesture, scratching down tightly against the hands clamped around her neck. "_Fuck_... The Sanctum."

Amodar's eyes widened by a slight fraction. "Have I gone senile? A Seraph with a _spine_..." He suddenly chuckled, easing his grip away. "You'd better hope your god isn't listening in, or you'll do better down here than you might intend."

Lightning quietly gasped, wheezing for breath, and as the air finally poured out into her lungs her lungs, a faint, flickering outline began to hover beside her shoulder-blades, but it had disappeared again just a moment. "I'm not here on Bhunivelze's orders... Or anyone's, for that matter."

Amodar moved away with a grunt, slowly retaking his seat. "Then I'd be curious to know why Sazh brought you here in the first place." He glanced to the side, meeting Sazh's gaze with a chuckle. "Not that I doubt your resolve, buddy."

Sazh rolled his eyes. "Lightning can speak for herself... But I don't think it's any secret about what happened to Cocoon."

Amodar shrugged, before he reached away for a glass atop the counter. "I honestly don't give a damn what goes on in the homeland."

Lightning glanced around, gazing at the assorted patrons of the bar, and she noted that an odd, lingering energy hovered about each and every one of them. "Bhunivelze... He abandoned us too, when it fell."

Amodar quirked a single eyebrow. "Makes sense... When shit hits the fan, he's never wanted to deal with it." He lifted the glass to his mouth. "But that doesn't quite answer my question."

Lightning swallowed back a sigh, and she moved to sit straighter upon the edge of the table. "You'll need a little context, first... We settled on a small fragment of the shell; it was kept floating by its own gravitational field." She took a deep breath. "The Sanctum... They set up a permanent base to the west, but it was..." Lightning paused, gathering her thoughts. "Long story short, we had to leave. _Quickly_."

Sazh frowned. "Amodar... She _saved_ my son."

With a slow nod, Amodar set down his glass. "So why are you here?"

Lightning rose to her feet. "I've heard stories about the goddess, Etro." She took a step forward. "And about her fallen flock."

"I'd hardly call us a flock." Amodar chuckled. "But I've seen stranger groups, for sure..."

Lightning nodded. "I'm here to open formal communication, as well as to inquire-"

Amodar raised his hand. "Girlie, look _around_ you... Just play it cool, okay?" He shook his head. "This really isn't a formal sort of place."

Lightning glanced over to see a snoring patron who was slumped across the bar, resting beside his own drool. "I gathered."

Amodar began to smile. "Good, now tell me what you're here for."

Lightning nodded. "I have... Unfinished business, with the 'great lord' himself."

Both Amodar and Sazh couldn't help but stare when a soft, flickering light began to swirl, gathering out along her back and shoulders, but the glow was quickly tinged with both an unfamiliar color, as well as a strange, potent design at the edge.

Lightning almost smirked. "We've discovered quite a few things since the fall..."

* * *

With a sharp gasp, Serah stumbled away from the flickering panel, but as the glow intensified, she found herself frozen in place, gazing up at the strong, pulsing lights that began to appear from within the Vestige itself.

"Serah..." Snow turned to face her, and his eyes went wide. "This didn't happen before... What did you-?"

Serah shook her head back and forth. "I didn't do _anything_..." She moved forward to touch one of the swirling lights, and to her surprise, it began to curl up into her fingertips, glimmering from within. "It's actually... Really pretty."

Hope frowned at the glowing threads around him, but after a moment, his expression softened. "It's not doing anything bad..."

Snow relaxed slightly. "Suppose not."

After a moment of silence, a low, crackling voice echoed out from somewhere beneath them. "Excuse me?"

Three sets of gazes turned to the floor, simultaneously widening at the sight they received.

* * *

Amodar shrugged. "Well, you'd need a Nephilim."

"A what?" Lightning asked, "I thought the followers of Etro could-"

Amodar shook his head. "Look, I don't have all day to explain this to you." He folded his hands together. "Bhunivelze is a _god_, alright? You can't just walk up to him and air your grievances without ending up like _us,__ or worse._"

Lightning slowly began to nod.

"So, you'd need a _Nephilim_." Amodar grinned. "When the first handful of us settled here on Gran Pulse, you could imagine that the pickings were pretty slim..."

Lightning glanced away. "That, I can."

Amodar laughed through his teeth. "To put it _simply_, when facing a god, you'd need an individual with the immunity of a human, _and_ the powers of a fallen Seraph." He leaned back in his chair. "That'd be a Nephilim."

After a moment, Lightning turned to face Sazh. "You're my only contact here; is there any way to find someone-"

Sazh held up his hands. "Look, I'm all for you sticking it to Bhunivelze, especially where it hurts, but this already sounds like a suicide mission." His gaze went slightly softer. "I'll always appreciate you looking out for Dajh, but I can't just put the both of us in the firing line like that."

Slowly, Lightning nodded. "I'll just have to start looking, then..." She began to turn in place, glancing back at Amodar. "Thank you for the information."

Amodar waved her off. "Eh... Any time, kiddo."

Sazh could only watch as his companion began to walk out through the front door, and he nearly had to squint at the split-second ray of light that seared off, tapering away into the air. "She's... A good kid."

Amodar shrugged, but there was something different to his gaze, an air of genuine contentment that hadn't graced his features in centuries. "Eh, a little reckless, maybe..." He watched as the delicate shape of a feather drifted down beside the windowsill, before it landed gently upon the doormat. "But I guess you can't help but root for the likes of that."


	2. Search

The was a thick, damp fog lingering in the narrow streets, and it had even drifted out into the air above, but when a pair of worn sneakers touched down across the weathered, stony rooftop, the mist began to curl up around their bearer, shrouding her path in white.

"Lightning? Hey, wait up!"

Lightning stopped in place, tugging her jacket tighter around her chest. "Sazh? I didn't think you'd be following me."

The sound of Sazh's footsteps was slightly unusual for a moment, before each of his paces evened out into heavier footfalls. "You're not the only one who can get around this quick..." Sazh walked up to stand beside her, and he crossed his hands against the back of his neck, catching his breath. "I did mean what I said in there... But I guess it couldn't hurt to point you in the right direction, could it?"

Lightning blinked when a raindrop hit the bridge of her nose. "I wouldn't want either of you to take the fall for this."

Sazh chuckled. "I've already had my fair share of falling..."

Lightning almost winced. "Poor choice of words, _sorry_-"

Sazh shook his head. "That's all old history, nothing you need to worry about." He moved to let his hands fall to his sides, and he turned to face the street below. "But I've gotta tell you, this plan of yours doesn't seem all that practical... Why revenge, of all things?"

Lightning began to grit her teeth. "I never said it was revenge... Just unfinished business." She turned to walk forward again, moving deeper into the mist. "Serah, she was... Like I said, for a while... She was a l'Cie."

Sazh moved to follow after her. "What sort of l'Cie? One with a focus?"

Lightning nodded. "We did manage to stop it before it was too late, but it wasn't without consequence." She looked off into the distance for a moment, she spoke in a quieter tone. "I'd rather not go further into it, if you don't mind."

"No problem, but now that you mention it..." Sazh turned to face a nearby plaza, or more specifically, the towering structure that stood above above it. "A _l'Cie_ could be _just_ what we need in this situation."

Lightning followed his gaze. "L'Cie don't exist on earth."

Sazh merely chuckled. "Maybe not a _living_ l'Cie... But have you ever wondered what happens to the ones who fail their focus?" He lifted his hand to point at the top of the spire. "As chances would have it, I actually _know_ the poor sucker who lives up there."

Lightning looked up at the winding tower. "A fallen l'Cie..? A Cie'th."

Sazh nodded. "Most prefer the term 'watcher', from what I've gathered." He walked over to stand beside the edge of the roof. "I think that this might be your best lead, but try listening to what that he has to say... If _I_ can't talk you out of this, maybe someone worse off than the both of us can."

With a quiet sigh, Lightning began to move forward, and for a split second, Sazh caught the outline of a small bird, flapping just beside her shoulder-blades, before she herself dematerialized into a thin streak of light.

* * *

"Woah." Hope knelt down within the center of the room, staring down into the circular, flickering screen. "I guess they _are_ chatty..."

The voice crackled again. "Hello? If you could kindly attempt to remove the grate from the dispensary just behind you, it would be most appreciated."

Snow frowned at the screen below, but he could barely make out anything more than a dizzying swirl of colors beneath the translucent floor-panels. "What would that even do, though?" He turned to look at the grate in question, before he nearly jumped back at the sight of a tiny, box-like machine.

"Hello, my name is Bhakti." The machine rolled up to tap along the bars with one of his tiny, metal grabbers. "My friends are urgently awaiting my assistance, so I simply _must_ find a way out of this predicament as soon as possible."

Serah stared down at the machine with wide, yet unwavering eyes. "Hey, how'd you get stuck in there?" She walked forward to inspect the tiny tunnel. "Doesn't it open from the inside?"

Bhakti's internal lights dimmed considerably. "I am afraid not... As for how I ended up in this place, I cannot quite explain that at present." He reached up to poke at the metal plating beside his set of mechanical eyes. "I fear that the process of accessing my internal memory database while in my current level of charge would result in using up what little energy I have left."

Serah began to frown. "Well... How can we get you out of there?" She held out her hand, tracing her fingertips around the weathered edges of the grate. "Is there anything we can do to help you in the mean time? Some spare batteries, maybe?"

Bhakti rolled back and forth upon a set of thin tire-treads. "I am not completely sure what form of energy cells might remain here, but any form of sustenance or assistance would be greatly appreciated."

Snow leaned to the side, scratching his chin. "Okay... But you aren't gonna go crazy on us if we help you out of there, right?" He knelt down up to curl his index finger around one of the metal bars. "There's nothing in that database about being hostile, right?"

Bhakti's eyes blinked once. "Of course not; I am programmed to assist any and all Seraphim, those who display no prior forms of aggression towards either my physical or mental state, of course."

Hope let out a quiet sigh. "That's good."

Snow gazed down at the tiny, orange machine, before he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Don't make me regret this, then." His wrists suddenly flared up, glowing with a pale, blueish light, before he tugged back, wrenching a section of the grate away with only a muffled grunt.

"Excellent!" Bhakti slowly began to roll forward from the tunnel, and his eye-stalks swiveled back and forth. "I must find some way to repay you."

Serah watched as Bhakti's lights began to dim even further, and her frown deepened. "Alright, but you aren't out of the woods just yet..."

Bhakti turned in place. "Perhaps my friends left behind some form of battery, as you suggested."

Hope had already knelt down to rummage through a pile of debris, and began to lift up an odd, twisted piece of metal. "There's some stuff over here! Come take a look."

Serah nearly gasped when Bhakti toppled out from the tunnel, plummeting down from his perch, but with a quick, sharp puff of air, he kept himself from clattering to the ground, which allowed him to land gently upon the metal floor.

Bhakti let out a series of chirps and clicks. "I believe that I will be of much more assistance to you once I have regained access to my internal memory core." He rolled over to where Hope was searching. "May I ask you what year this is?"

Snow walked up to stand beside them. "Well... It's been a little hard to keep track of, with being in stasis and all..."

Serah nodded as she knelt down to help organize the debris. "From what I heard, before we got here... Light and I had been in sleep for at least fifty years since the fall."

Bhakti turned to face her. "'The fall?'"

Serah nodded with a tiny frown. "Yeah... Cocoon, it-"

Bhakti's lights nearly flickered away. "No. It cannot be."

Snow knelt down to pet the tiny machine. "Sorry, little buddy..."

"My _friends_, they had hoped to-" Bhakti quivered, sputtering slightly. "This... This must mean that they have failed."

Serah leaned forward, staring at him with a slight tilt of her head. "...What are you talking about?"

Bhakti turned to face the pile of wreckage. "Please, before I-" He shook in place, and his voice crackled with every word.

Hope held up a translucent vial. "Hey, what about this?" There was thin, murky liquid swirling within, and it almost seemed to glow in the low level of light. "It looks like it might have some charge left."

Bhakti rolled over to rest beside him. "_Quickly_, my friend..."

Hope held the container down beside Bhakti's mechanical form, before he spotted a gap in the smooth, orange metal that protected his internal form of wires and framework. "Here." Hope lowered the vial beside the gap, and for a moment, all was silent, before a thin, metal clasp lurched out to grab at the glass container, yanking it down to disappear within the machine himself.

"Eager little guy..." Snow tapped at Bhakti's outer plating. "Feeling any better?"

Bhakti said nothing for a while, before his body suddenly came alight, spinning around in place. "Oh, most certainly!"

Serah giggled to herself. "Glad to hear it..."

Bhakti hummed for a moment, still swiveling back and forth. "Accessing internal memory; the core is thankfully still intact, but my aging processors seem to be unresponsive." He kept silent for while. "I may have our answers."

"Yeah?" Snow moved back to lean against a nearby wall. "So what did you mean, just a minute ago?"

Bhakti turned to face him. "I was once a highly valued member of the very group of individuals that created this Vestige; we were tasked with devoting our lives to the study, and to hopefully prevent the prophecy, fabled even among the seers." He swiveled in place once again. "The very prophecy that told of Cocoon's own destruction, as well as the dreaded curse that would fall upon it shortly beforehand."

Serah closed her eyes.

"But if Cocoon... If our _home_ is already-" Bhakti turned to face the entryway. "If Cocoon has truly fallen, then may I ask where we are currently located?"

Hope cleared his throat. "Well, technically, this _is_ Cocoon." He gestured at the room around them. "Well, what's left of it... This is just a little sliver; we were lucky enough to find even that."

"Then that would explain why _I_ am here..." Bhakti began to hum. "This Vestige was our base of operations, and my keeper scarcely left it while we were working together."

Serah opened her eyes to look at Bhakti. "Your... Keeper?"

"Yes, she is a woman of unparalleled knowledge and wisdom!" Bhakti's lights flickered back and forth. "But I do not know what might have happened to her, not once the Vestige fell under Sanctum investigation."

Snow grit his teeth. "Well, if you're looking for 'aggressive Seraphim'... Those are your guys."

"Indeed?" Bhakti slowly swiveled in place. "I must look over my memory archives, but I fear that this small measure of power will only last me for so long."

Serah leaned over to look inside the machine, at the slowly draining vial. "Is there any other way to get you some energy?"

Bhakti rolled over to the room's entryway. "Would there happen to be a source of sunlight nearby?"

Hope rose to his feet. "It'll be getting dark soon, but yeah... Just outside."

Bhakti clicked, chattering on with a quiet hum. "Excellent! We can investigate this matter in further detail once we've reached the exit."

Serah and Snow both stood up to follow after Hope and Bhakti, but before, Snow leaned to the side, whispering softly in Serah's direction. "Do you think we can... Trust this?"

Serah shrugged, before she whispered back. "I don't know, but he doesn't seem malicious."

Snow almost frowned, but when he caught the look of genuine intrigue and excitement on Hope's face, he stilled, gazing down at the tiny machine. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Serah merely nodded to herself, before she tapped along the end of her bow, following the group out into the hall.

* * *

Lightning felt her knees touch down against the smooth, layered tile, but when she slowly rose up to her feet, she couldn't help but stare at the intricate framework within the tower itself; the pointed structure tapered off into a narrow spire, yet inside of the circular structure, a slim, yet hunched statue sat in solitude, just upon the weathered floor.

Sazh soon walked up behind her, folding his arms across his chest. "He's never been willing to tell me his name, but he doesn't seem to mind it when I call him 'Watcher'."

Lightning walked up to stand directly before the statue, and after a moment of examining it, she stepped back with a near-silent gasp. "This _is_ a Cie'th..."

_Watch your tongue._

Lightning stood fast, but when a strong, nearly overwhelming sense of unease swept across her entire form, she slowly lowered her head. "I'm sorry, I've just never seen a Cie'th so..." She paused, steeling herself. "So intact."

The statue seemed to resemble a large, humanoid shape, but it was curled in on itself, sheltered only by a pair of twin, crystallized wings. _Your blood is that of the lofty Seraphim, and yet you stand here upon the earth itself..._

Lightning began to nod, stepping forward again. "I'm here to ask for the wisdom you have... Sazh told me that you could offer it."

After a long moment, the Watcher projected a rumbling sound, nearly akin to laughter. _And just what wisdom could an old idealist offer to a fledgling Seraph? You would be much better off seeking your own lord's council, just beneath this very steeple..._

Lightning shook her head. "Not council... Information." She moved her hands down into her jacket pockets, gazing deep into the sleek, mottled surface of the statue. "I need to find a Nephilim."

The Watcher kept silent for a long while. _And why do you have need of this?_

Lightning lowered herself into a sitting position, before she glanced up at Sazh, who had leaned against a wooden pillar beside the stature. "Because... I have to make sure that my sister is never used again."

_Used... For? _At Lightning's silence, the Watcher softened his tone._ Tell me your story, o' child of Cocoon... Like all of the fallen, I cannot dare depart this mortal realm, nor can I see beyond its earthly barriers..._

Lightning took a deep breath. "She was... Branded a l'Cie."

* * *

With a quiet, whimpering sniffle, Serah had moved her fingers over the reddened mark, rubbing down just above the blackened ridges, as well as the bright, crystallized eye.

"_Serah_." Lightning tightened her grip of Serah's wrist. "Don't make it worse."

Serah reached up to cover her own mouth with her free arm. "Why-?" Her voice was muffled as she bit back a cry. "Why aren't you _mad_ at me..?"

Lightning kept completely still for a moment, before she reached out to pull the shivering form into her arms, holding her close. "Because we all make mistakes."

Serah reached up to rub away the tears from her eyes. "Not like this... Not a_ l'Cie!_"

Lightning hissed quietly through her teeth. "_Enough.._. What's done is done, so we can only try to move forward from it." She slowly patted along Serah's back, releasing a sigh of her own. "We just have to figure out your focus before we run out of time."

Serah turned her head to look at the red, slumbering eye, firmly embedded upon her upper arm. "How long do even I have? It was only _yesterday_; it couldn't have gone too far by now!"

Lightning glanced up at the room around them. "The Sanctum will know." She moved to stand, but Serah quickly dragged her back down for a long, tight hug, before she was released to rise up to her feet. "They shouldn't take much longer to see us... This is urgent, after all."

Serah turned, staring up at her sister with a set of bleary, shadowed eyes. "They'll... They'll know how to figure this out?"

Lightning looked at the door. "They're the best chance we have."

Serah relaxed slightly, but only by a fraction. "I'm... I'm really scared, Light."

With a nod, Lightning walked over to sit down on a nearby chair. "I know that, but I also know that you're tougher than you think."

Serah almost flushed, tearing up once more. "You're just _saying_ that."

Lightning shook her head. "Hey, what would Mog think of me if I lied to you?" A smile tugged at her mouth. "Bring him out; you could use the moral support."

With a small, shaky laugh, Serah reached down for the bracelet upon her wrist. "Mog, please come and see us..."

After a moment of silence, the charms upon the silvery bangle started to glow, before they fluttered out, disappearing into thin air, and were soon replaced by a soft, fuzzy creature, one that sat upright within the center of the room.

Serah smiled. "Good to see you..."

Mog, in his physical form, sat nearly tall enough to dwarf even Lightning herself, but despite his massive size, the fluffy beast merely cooed at Serah from above, gently pulling her into a hug.

Lightning exhaled from her seat, mouthing a silent _'thank you'_ to the conjured creature.

Mog somewhat resembled a large bear, upon first sight, but his white, shaggy fur was long enough to hide almost both of his eyes, while he had a strange, clock-like contraption embedded upon his broad chest; he also had a pink nose, the likes of which never seemed to be able to stop twitching, like he was constantly sniffing for something.

"Hey, we're going to get you out of this, Serah." Lightning reached over to trace the leather holster attached to her belt, simultaneously gripping the polished, metal side of her seat. "Trust me, okay?"

Serah nodded into Mog's fur.

With a soft, almost shivery sigh, Lightning let her eyes fall shut, allowing the tension to bleed out from her limbs, but it was replaced just as quickly by a sense of bitter, lingering dread, and try as she might, she couldn't shake away the feeling from deep, _deep_ within her bones.

* * *

_Such is the fate of all l'Cie... _The Watcher rumbled in place. _Complete their focus, lest they fail... And become a Cie'th._

Lightning opened her eyes. "She still has the brand, but it's... Faded, and white."

Sazh hummed to himself. "But it's _still_ there?"

Lightning nodded. "Completely open, but she's still... Just like her normal self." With a slow shake of her head, Lightning rose to her feet. "I mean, I'd never heard of a brand just _freezing_ itself like that, so I decided that I needed to make sure it _never_ comes back."

_Ah... You would rip it out at the source. _The watcher nearly laughed again. _And you would seek a Nephilim to face the great lord, himself._

Lightning stared out, gazing off into the light, drizzling rain. "Serah still doesn't remember what happened... Or so she says."  
_  
_The watcher spoke._ And what of her focus?_

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I'd really rather not talk about it."

The Watcher kept silent for a long moment, before he spoke once more, slightly clearer than before._ L'Cie are made of Seraphim, for even the greatest of beings cannot willingly destroy the soul of a mortal... Such a force falls under Etro's domain, despite His best efforts to render Her powerless. _The Watcher paused. _And yet, a human form would surely crumble beneath the sight of such a heavenly being... This is why you need a Nephilim, no?_

Lightning nodded. "Yeah... So don't even try to talk me out of it."

The Watcher laughed quietly. _I will only offer you my sincerest advice... Abandon such a needless pursuit; a god has never been defeated in this realm or the next, and you would surely be destroyed, merely for attempting it._

Lightning shook her head. "I don't want to _defeat_ him..." Her hands tightened within her pockets. "If I can help it, that is... I want to bargain with him."

_Oh? _The Watcher paused for a while. _Why consider the Nephilim, then?_

Lightning's gaze turned to the sky, and she began to stare off into the clouds. "Bhunivelze disappeared when Cocoon fell... You hear people say that the gods rarely even appear when called, except for a dire prayer... Or a challenge." She felt her jaw tighten, bracing the bitter wind that swept over the rooftop. "And I'm done praying."

_Then... I will leave you with only a word of caution. _The Watcher's statue almost seemed to shimmer, but Lightning could find that nothing had changed when she looked it over. _Study this subject in depth; perhaps you could find better a solution for you kin, one far less dangerous than this._

"Study the l'Cie?" Lightning let her gaze drop to the floor. "Almost _everything_ was lost when Cocoon fell, and I doubt that I could find anyone alive who would know very much about them."

The Watcher hummed. _Then you... Must search._

Sazh spoke up. "Hey... I do, have an old friend down here; _she_ might know a little something or two about l'Cie." He moved to gaze at the ground below. "She's a little... Uh, _eccentric_, but she knows her stuff."

Lightning bit back a smile. "Thank you, Sazh."

The Watcher spoke again. _As for your Nephilim, perhaps you will find that your answer is already within reach._

Lightning turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

_Seraphim, ye heavenly beings, blessed with both extraordinary skills and many senses... Look, and ye shall find._

After a moment, Lightning shrugged. "I suppose I'll have to." Without another word, she moved away to walk down to the lower rooftop.

Sazh leaned back to wave at the statue as he followed after Lightning. "Take care of yourself, you hear?"

The Watcher kept silent, but Sazh swore that somehow, the winged statue looked just a bit more lifelike than before.

* * *

Turning slowly in place, Serah stared up into the dark, churning clouds, and after a moment, she felt a raindrop hit the side of her forehead. "Are you getting anything, even with all of this..?"

Bhakti sat beside her feet, and he was holding up a retractable solar panel above his box-like form. "Only trace amounts, but yes, there is just enough residual sunlight... This is a _very_ peculiar atmosphere, yet it is not unlike how I remember Cocoon's to be."

Hope moved to sit beside him. "They must have built this place long ago... Do you remember which year it was built?"

After a moment of silent processing, Bhakti began to rattle off a series of numbers, before he started to speak again. "Upon relaying such data beside my internal aging-sensors, I cannot determine an exact date, other than it must have occurred several millennia ago."

"Millennia..." Snow whistled. "They really built that thing to _last_, huh?"

Bhakti let out an affirmative chirp. "One does not simply create a house of information without warding it against the ages..."

"Information?" Serah moved to kneel beside the tiny machine. "The stuff that you said about Cocoon... Would it still be inside, here?"

Bhakti chirped again. "Certainly, but first, you would need the proper technique to access even the simplest of encrypted documents." He swiveled in place for a moment. "For you _see_, my friends were researching a _highly_ controversial subject... Much of the general population believed that such prophecies were never even meant to be questioned, nor tampered with."

Serah bit at her bottom lip. "But _you_ could access it, right?"

"Of course." Bhakti's internal lights began to flicker beneath the increasing rainfall. "But while I am thoroughly waterproof, my internal energy-levels must be carefully maintained, especially within my current state of exhaustion... So I cannot offer my services in that way, not at the moment."

Serah nodded. "Of course." She leaned back, slowly staring into the gentle rain. "Hey, I'm pretty sure we have some old batteries back in town... They might not be compatible with you, but we could always try them out."

Bhakti hummed with a quiet chirp. "That would be wonderfully generous of you." He began to turn in place. "Would you please lead me to this town of yours?"

Snow chuckled. "Unless you want to try handling the stairs... You might want to let me carry you down."

Bhakti wheeled over to stand beside Snow's boots. "I would normally simply employ my hover mechanics, but in my current state of power-" He chirped again when Snow hoisted him up. "You are quite strong, my friend!"

Snow cracked a grin. "The name's Snow! Snow Villiers."

Serah smiled as well. "I'm Serah Farron."

As Bhakti's eyes swiveled over to Hope, the young boy cleared his throat. "Hope Estheim."

"I am very glad to have met all of you." Bhakti started to hum as they walked down upon the narrow, winding steps that led down into the village. "I did happen to detect several signatures of individual Seraphim, just a few months previous, but I was unable to wake myself in time to announce my presence."

"That's alright." Snow patted at the side of Bhakti's metal form. "I'm just glad we were able to rescue you from in there... It's not often you find working tech from Cocoon."

Bhakti let out a quiet hum. "Perhaps you could inform me of the more current events, once we arrive? It feels... So _strange_, to have been asleep for so long."

Serah nearly laughed. "Tell me about it..."

Hope glanced between the two figures before him, when his gaze suddenly began to linger upon the strange, white markings along Serah's upper arm, as well as the way she would sometimes subconsciously scratch around it. He almost thought to ask her about it, but after a moment of contemplation, Hope glanced down at his own wrist, and his brow wrinkled at the memory of how he had obtained his own, jagged brand, so he simply kept silent, following after his friends as they walked down into the tiny, yet bustling village.

* * *

Lightning exhaled as the rain began to quicken, and although she felt her both of her lungs shiver and tighten within her chest, she said nothing as Sazh led them both down a bustling sidewalk.

"Okay, so if there's one thing to know about Chocolina..." Sazh scratched at the stubble on his chin with a quiet laugh. "She is an _insane_, rambunctious coot of a woman, but I couldn't love her any more than I already do."

Lightning quirked a single eyebrow, fighting back a cough. "She sounds... Unique."

Sazh nearly grinned. "That's one way to put it... But she's got an unhealthy obsession with certain 'trinkets'... So watch your pockets."

Lightning tapped at her jacket. "I don't carry any money."

Sazh shook his head. "I'm not talking about money... Don't think that I didn't notice your friend, there."

Lightning winced when the invisible presence at her back detached, quickly fluttering down to rest on her palm. "He's my _familiar_, not a trinket."

Sazh chuckled at the dove. "Good to see you, buddy... Looking a bit smaller there, aren't you?"

Lightning bit back a smirk. "Just to blend in."

The bird cooed from within her hands, before he fluttered away to nestle within her jacket pocket.

"Odin... He's been a little reclusive, lately." Lightning reached up to stroke along the bird's back. "But I think it's just because we've all been so busy."

Sazh glanced over his shoulder. "You still have the other birds, right?"

Lightning nodded. "They're almost like _family_, now... All the way from Cocoon, but they still remembered us."

Sazh turned back to face the sidewalk. "I once had one, you know... I had a familiar."

Lightning looked down at her feet.

"But I guess she was still back up Cocoon, when it fell... They can't really find you, down here."

Lightning shook her head. "She had to have survived; familiars are _bound_ to their partner..." She held Odin a little tighter. "They die, you die."

Sazh rolled his shoulders with a shrug. "Guess she didn't think to search for me... Or maybe she's still looking." He let out a long, quiet sigh. "But who knows? No use dwelling that far in the past."

Lightning tried to clear her throat, but when she managed it, a low, wheezing cough rattled off within her chest, and she had to pause for a moment to regain her breath.

"Hey, you okay?" Sazh moved to stand beside her. "Not used to the air down here, huh?"

Lightning inhaled, sniffling slightly. "Yeah... Definitely different." She coughed again, but it was muffled by her wrist. "I guess I'm just used to the way it is back home."

Sazh nodded, gently patting her back. "Just take it slow."

Lightning nodded as well. "Is it much further? We could always just fly."

For a moment, something flickered at Sazh's shoulders, but the outline was very pale, and somehow hazy. "It's... Not too far."

Lightning almost frowned at his tone. "Okay."

Sazh began to lead the way again in silence, keeping his hands at his sides, but he began to speak again once they had neared a small, curious looking storefront. "Alright, just don't freak out if she decides to hug you..."

Lightning tilted her head to the side, but she said nothing as Sazh waved her over, beneath a dim, yet decorated entryway, leading her further into a small, but cozy little shop.

* * *

"I've told you a _million_ times, and I'll tell you again, for as _long_ as it takes..." The woman reclined in her chair, one leg folded over her other. "There is _nothing_ supernatural about your dreams, no matter how crazy or fucked up they can get."

A younger woman scrunched up her nose at the first, standing on her tiptoes. "So _you've_ been having them _too?_ Mine aren't fucked _up_, Fang!"

Fang leaned back in her seat. "_Vanille_."

Vanille looked away with a quiet huff. "What?"

Fang smirked. "Don't cuss." She closed her eyes before her companion could grimace at her. "It's probably just those tacos from the Birch Street stand; those've _always_ given you funky dreams."

Vanille paused on a retort, before she slumped back slightly, stalking over to the back of the chair. "I guess so..." She leaned over against the backing of the large, leather armchair. "But... Don't you think it's _strange? _I dreamt that it would start raining today, and it did!"

Fang shrugged, leafing through the magazine upon her lap. "You probably just saw the weather report somewhere yesterday without noticing it."

Vanille let out a sigh. "I just _knew_ it would happen, though..." After a moment of silence, she eased away from the chair. "You want pizza tonight, or should we stick to something milder?"

Fang shook her head. "Aunt's coming over, remember."

Vanille paused in place, before she gently slapped against her forehead with a gasp. "Dammit!"

"Don't _cuss_."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "Oh, says the gutter-mouth of the _year!_" She scrambled over to the coffee table to shove away an armful of stray wrappers, packaging and tissues into a nearby bin. "Why didn't you remind me _earlier?! _I could've cleaned even before she even got here!"

"Because she's a lunatic who doesn't give a crap about messes one way or another..." Fang turned the page of her magazine. "She'll be too busy fawning over _you_ to notice the cockroaches, anyway."

Vanille let out a muffled shriek. "There aren't really-?!"

Fang waved her off with a grin. "Teasing, teasing, just relax..." She set down her magazine after a moment, swiveling in her chair to face Vanille. "Don't pick up too much of it; looks more natural with a bit of rubbish, anyway."

Vanille began to huff under her breath, but she quickly busied herself with snatching up most of the more obvious pieces of litter, tossing them away into the bin to join their fellows.

After a while, Fang reached back to pick up her magazine, but a strange, yet familiar thought crossed her mind; she found herself lingering on the image of late-night visions, of pale, rippled scars, strewn alongside a drifting, _fluttering_ white... But the more she focused on it, the more each figure began to fade, so after a while, Fang simply shook her head, before she stood up to aid her sister with the current task at hand.


	3. Wings

The first scent that Lightning noticed upon entering the storefront was the downy smell of feathers, but she also quickly caught wind of both a variety of grain and an odd, pungent incense. She wrinkled her nose as they walked further into the maze of counters, cages and cabinets, as well as several, swinging perches that lay above.

A voice called out from somewhere in the back rooms of the building. "Be out in a moment!"

Sazh chuckled to himself. "Don't worry... They'll only peck a _little_ at first."

Lightning's eyes went wide when she caught sight of the various denizens within the dim little store, and after a moment, several peeping creatures began to flutter about, scrambling over to greet her.

Sazh started to grin. "Miss Chocolina specializes in... _Certain_ types of animal-care." He knelt down to pick up one of the chirping, fluffy birds. "Specifically chickens, and other domestic birds."

The little chick squeaked in his hand, flapping its stubby wings.

Sazh gently patted at the top of the creature's head. "Messy little things, for sure, but they're still pretty cute."

Lightning tried to ignore the various tiny birds that were scrambling over each other to sit on her shoes, but after a moment, she glanced down at them, and then quickly looked back up. "So this... 'Chocolina', she knows about l'Cie?"

Sazh nodded as he set down the little bird upon a nearby counter-top. "Yup, she's pretty much a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Cocoonic lore... Not that we have a whole lot of use for it, down here."

Suddenly, a tall, yet scantily clad woman burst out from a nearby door, struggling to push back a large, feathery _something_ into the room she had come from. "No, _no!_ You get back inside for now, it's not _nearly_ time for our walk yet!"

Lightning caught a quick glimpse of the towering 'something' in question, but the unusual woman quickly managed to coax it away, and had pushed the door shut with a grunt.

Shortly after, Sazh was almost immediately tackled in a hug, so with a chuckle, he began to mutter under his breath. "Nice to see you, too..." He waved over at Lightning. "Lightning, this is Chocolina."

Chocolina hopped away from her hug with Sazh, only to shake Lightning's hand, smiling all the while. "A fellow _Seraphim!_ How wonderfully _wonderful_ to meet you!"

Lightning paused to examine the airy, unusual aura that hovered around and within Chocolina's body; it was similar to what Sazh and the other fallen possessed, however, unlike theirs, a certain, fluttery sensation hovered about within it, and it almost reminded Lightning of her own. "You aren't... Fallen."

Chocolina grinned at her. "Not officially, nope!" She bounded away, only to gather up an armful of the birds from the floor. "But upon a chance visit down here, to Gran Pulse in particular, I discovered a most _unusual_ breed of bird, so I _just_ had to stay for a while and learn as much as I could about them!"

Sazh stifled a laugh as Chocolina set the birds down upon a nearby desk.

"But! During my many, _many_ years on this particular planet, I've found myself quite accustomed to it." Chocolina clapped her hands together, and all the little chicks turned to face her. "Now, it's high time for you to take a nap! I have some friends that I need to speak with, and we could use a little quiet for it."

The little birds began to scamper away, into a nearby wooden box, and Lightning glanced down when the chicks upon her shoes ran off to catch up with their fellows.

"Now, I have _so_ many questions to ask you!" Chocolina bounced over to stand before Lightning, gesturing at a nearby circle of chairs. "When I heard about what happened to Cocoon, I could barely even believe it! A place _that_ sturdy falling apart? Unheard of!"

Slowly, Lightning allowed herself to be guided over to an armchair. "I have some things to ask you too, actually..."

Chocolina began to beam at her, flopping down into another chair. "A question for a question, then!"

Sazh took a seat as well. "You won't mind if I listen in..?"

Chocolina reached over to swat at the side of his arm. "Don't be _silly!_ Information should always be freely given; of course you can stay and listen." She turned to look at Lightning. "I'll ask mine first if you don't mind; what became of the _shell_ itself? I've already asked several different people that might have known, but they told me it happened many years ago! How terribly unhelpful..." Chocolina set down her arms with a huff. "_Talk_ about being kept out of the loop!"

Lightning quietly cleared her throat. "Well, when the outer shell started to buckle, evacuations were already starting to take place... And most people were put under stasis to survive the risk of impact." She began to lean back with a slow shake of her head. "My sister and I were... We went to sleep at separate times, but we managed to find each other once the dust had settled." Lightning closed her eyes. "There were other containers strewn all around the area, so we were able to wake up quite a few of them."

Chocolina frowned. "But... What _caused_ the destruction in the first place?"

Lightning held back a smile. "I think it's my turn for a question." She opened her eyes. "What do you know about branded l'Cie? Specifically a white, frozen mark."

Chocolina's eyes went wide. "That's... Are you serious?"

Lightning nodded.

Chocolina quickly hopped to her feet, and she moved over to rummage through the drawers of her desk. "It must have been the prophecy, but I thought that was supposed to be utter hogwash! They _proved_ it so!"

Lightning's lungs began to tighten. "Prophecy?"

Chocolina soon returned with a pile of worn, aging papers. "Yes, yes! A prophesied l'Cie, chosen to halt the destruction of life as we know it, one who bears a pale, accursed brand..."

Lightning looked down at the long, flowing texts that had been offered to her. "I can't read this."

Chocolina frowned. "You can't?" She paused. "They... They stopped teaching people how to read the old tongue? How... Disappointing."

Lightning glanced away. "I'm not really sure why."

Chocolina let out a quiet sigh, before she sat down once more. "I guess that Common is much easier to teach than Cocoonic, that much is true." She slowly bit back a grin. "But don't even get me _started_ on Gran Pulsian..."

Sazh spoke up. "You know Gran Pulsian?"

Chocolina nodded. "As a scholar, I _pride_ myself in knowing several different ancient languages, even ones that are virtually useless in this day and age!" She set down the papers on her lap. "And you know that I have a few close friends that I've been looking after; they wanted to learn their old native tongue, so I was more than happy to teach it to them." Chocolina looked back at Lightning. "But to answer your question, Lightning, I _do_ know quite a bit about l'Cie brands, but a white mark is only spoken of in elder prophecy and myth."

After a moment, Lightning nodded. "But have you ever heard of a brand that just _stopped?_ Without the focus even being completed... Without becoming a Cie'th."

Chocolina shook her head. "It does sound very unusual..." She tapped her fingers together. "I _have_ heard of people who completed something _close_ to their focus, yet not quite finishing it, to which they would fall deep into crystal sleep until the time is right."

Lightning thought in silence for a moment. "Like stasis..."

Chocolina nodded. "Almost _exactly_ the same; our own methods of artificial sleep were inspired by the process in which a successful l'Cie is almost instantly crystallized." She smiled again. "I think you owe me another answer." Something suddenly rustled out from Lightning's pocket, to which Chocolina gasped, staring down at the small, pearly dove. "A familiar! How interesting..."

Lightning reached down to stroke at the feathers around Odin's neck. "Yeah." She smiled softly at the dove, before she looked back up at Chocolina. "What other questions do you have?"

Chocolina nodded. "Are there very many others who survived? You said that your sister made it out, along with the rest..." She frowned a bit. "But you, you're the first fellow Seraph that I've seen in many years."

Lightning slowly leaned back, glancing at the ceiling, and at the many feathered birds that were hopping about the perches there. "After we woke up from the stasis cluster, most of us decided to travel for a while... It was pretty rough, but we eventually found a small shard from Cocoon, which was just floating around up there." She looked back down. "We settled there after a bit of... Conflict, with the Sanctum."

Chocolina nodded. "If you were able to settle it, it must have retained both its original atmospheric conditions, not to mention an artificial gravity core..." She kept quiet for a moment, before she clapped her hands together. "I'm so sorry to cut this so sort, but I _do_ have a previous arrangement that I simply can't miss..." Chocolina began to smile at Lightning. "_But,_ if you have more questions to ask, the shop is always open on weekdays 'til six!" She reached over to poke at Sazh's shoulder. "And any friend of Sazh, over here, is a friend of mine!"

Sazh nearly rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..." He soon smiled back at her. "How've you doing lately, by the way? I hope nobody's been troubling you?"

Chocolina glanced over her shoulder. "I _have_ gotten... Certain 'complaints' about the noise level." She bit at her bottom lip. "But, it's just that the chickies are so cooped up in this tiny little shop! _I_ can't help it if they want to run around and squawk for a bit!"

Lightning quirked an eyebrow when a loud thump echoed from the back. "What sort of animal was that..?"

Chocolina began to laugh. "I suppose they don't quite have a name yet! He's actually a crossbreed between my own special strain of chicken, and a _very_ large bird from southern Gran Pulse!" She stood up to walk back towards to the door. "You can come over and say hello if you like, but I _do_ need to get ready to close up shop for the night."

Slowly, Lightning rose to her feet. "It's friendly, right?"

A massive, fuzzy head suddenly jutted out from the open doorway, and a loud, baying squawk almost rattled the building itself.

"Beaky, _no!_" Chocolina covered her face with one of her hands, holding back the bird with her other. "You need to be _quiet_, mister!"

"Damn..." Sazh shook his head, gazing up at the gigantic bird. "How the _hell_ are you keeping that thing in an apartment like this?"

Chocolina rolled her eyes, patting the bird's neck with her free hand. "Daily walks in the park, and lots and _lots_ of birdseed!"

Lightning watched as Chocolina began to struggle with the giant bird, keeping him from running out into the store, before she herself began to move, slowly walking over to the commotion. "He probably just wants to race around."

Chocolina frowned. "Like I said, we do go for walks as often as we can, but a bird with _this_ much energy..."

After a moment, Lightning nodded. "If I have some free time... I'd be happy to take him out for one."

Chocolina began to beam at her. "That would be _wonderful!_ Oh, but what could I offer you in return?"

Lightning turned to look at the towering, fuzzy bird, before she reached up to pat at the side of his head. "Teach me Cocoonic."

For a brief moment, Chocolina's entire aura went still, as she searched far, deep into Lightning's eyes, but after a short period of silence, she began to speak again with a musical laugh in her voice. "I'd be happy to! It's not often that you find people who are interested in the way things used to be..."

Lightning merely blinked when Odin fluttered up from her jacket, landing atop her shoulder. "Knowing what I'm after, I might just need to learn it anyway." She began to lean back, but she reached up one more time to pat the larger bird again with her palm. "I do need to get home before dark, or my sister might just try to come and find me down here..."

Chocolina nodded at her. "Well, we'd love to see you again soon." She stood up to ruffle at the patch of spiky feathers atop the bird's head. "And don't worry too much, Beaky here is the most rambunctious of the group..."

Lightning walked back to stand beside Sazh. "Hey, thank you for this." She lowered her voice a bit, watching as Chocolina began to maneuver both herself and the massive bird away into the back room. "She seems... Pretty knowledgeable on almost exactly what I need."

Sazh nodded with a tiny grin. "I had a feeling she would be... You headed on home?"

Lightning nodded. "Even with the cloaking device we found, I don't like being this far for too long."

Sazh nodded as well. "Now, you take care of everyone up there, okay?" He patted at Lightning's unoccupied shoulder. "I'll try to have some more stuff ready for Dajh by the time you get back."

"I'll let him know." Lightning walked back to stand within the entryway, with Odin beside her neck. "Hey, you ready to go?"

Odin merely cooed at her, ruffling his wings with a short, quick shake.

"Chilly, I know..." Lightning looked back at Sazh. "See you soon."

Sazh nodded, offering her a tiny wave, and for a split second, he could see a translucent, yet _mighty_ set of wings unfurl at her sides, before Lightning was gone, and the door swung shut with a click.

* * *

"So, you're telling me..." Fang began to lean back against the side of the refrigerator, idly picking at a stray hangnail by her thumb. "That all of this crap could actually form a coherent... Something."

Vanille had her face buried deep within the dark, dank, and mysterious depths of aforementioned refrigeration device, but after a moment, she leaned back to growl out a response. "It's not _my_ fault if you pick 'whatever looks good' when it's your turn to restock!" She soon returned with an armful of various jars, wrappers and and containers. "Unless you'd rather pay for pizza?"

Fang shrugged. "Suppose it couldn't hurt to experiment..." She eyed an unusual patch of fungal growth within one of the jars. "Actually, let's go with pizza."

Vanille rolled her eyes, before she knelt down to stuff all of the food back into the refrigerator. "Whatever we do, let's just do it before-" She looked up as the doorbell rang. "Damn."

Fang walked out from the kitchen with a shout. "What'd I say about cussing?!"

With a giggle, Vanille jumped over to catch up with her. "Nothing you haven't said before."

Rolling her eyes, Fang soon stepped out into a tall, yet narrow hallway, before she yanked open the front door with a wry grin. "Hey, good to-" She was suddenly enveloped in a tight, unyielding hug, and Fang found that her next words went silent on her tongue when an odd, yet not unpleasant apparition began to linger just at the edge of her vision, but she couldn't quite catch sight of it. "Haven't had you over here in ages..."

Vanille ran up to them with a beaming smile. "Aunt Chocolina!" She was quickly dragged into the hug as well.

"Oh, It's good to see you, too!" Chocolina hummed into the hug. "How are my favorite nieces?"

Fang rolled her eyes again. "We're your _only_ nieces."

Chocolina clicked her tongue while she moved back from the embrace, shaking her head. "I wouldn't be so sure... It is a _big_ family tree, after all."

Vanille stood on her tiptoes. "Well, _Fang_ forgot to tell me you were coming, but I do have something to show you anyways!" She skipped back through the entryway and into a nearby living-room, gesturing for them to follow.

With a slow shake of her head, Fang lowered her voice to a whisper. "Just... Humor her, okay? She's going through a phase."

Chocolina giggled quietly, before she whispered back. "What _sort_ of phase?"

Fang covered her eyes with her hand, releasing a sigh. "Kind thought she'd be too old for this, but... Magic, and places in the sky." She let her arms fall, before she opened her eyes. "People that can fly."

Chocolina's breath nearly caught, but she kept the smile on her face, albeit a little more strained. "Well, where do you think this is coming from?"

Fang shrugged. "Dreams, she says... I dunno."

As they began to walk out into the tiny room, Vanille bounded up with several pieces of paper in her hands, to which she held one up with a grin. "Look! I've been having dreams about this... It's pretty, right?"

Chocolina moved to stare at the pale, circular structure, which was surrounded by long, puffy fields of clouds that stretched out to cross even the edges of the page; a group of sleek, slender airships circled about the sphere, leaving colorful trails of fog and steam in their wake.

"It's... _Very_ pretty." Chocolina's voice went low, and she moved to sit down, patting the sofa cushion beside her. "Tell me about these dreams."

Vanille quickly sat down beside her. "Well, there's always lots of people in them!" She handed over a drawing, that of a cascading fountain, which had been designed in such a way that artificial gravity spheres would cause the water to bend, falling about in winding, ribbon-like shapes. "And everything's so... Bright and _cheery_, so it almost always makes the dream a good one!"

Fang leaned over to look at the pictures as well. "Should I get that pizza ordered?"

Chocolina smiled up at Fang. "That would be wonderful." She pointed at another of the drawings. "And what is this one about?"

Vanille looked down at the image, which was of a vast, powerful eagle, each of its wings stretched both wide and far. "Oh, it was flying around when I was walking around one of the towns." She pointed at the first picture. "That place... It's like a floating _continent_; there are more cities in there than I can even count!"

Chocolina reached over to trace her fingertip above the head of the massive, white eagle. "Did he seem friendly?"

Vanille nodded. "He was just flying around, before he landed somewhere I couldn't see." As Vanille spoke, Fang began to walk into the other room with the phone. "But, Fang... I don't think she really believes that it might be out there."

Chocolina reached up to touch at the bright red pendant upon own her neck. "Well, maybe dreams aren't quite so... Imaginary as we think they are." She moved to wrap her arm around Vanille's shoulder. "Maybe when you're older, I'll tell you about some of the more interesting places our family comes from."

Vanille's eyes went wide. "I'm not _that_ young... Can't you tell me about them now?"

Chocolina laughed under her breath. "Fourteen is a little young for _this_ story... You might not even believe me when I tell it to you."

Vanille began to frown, chewing at her bottom lip. "I want to know _everything_ about us... Fang won't even tell me much about mom, or even dad." She closed her eyes for a moment, before she opened them again, staring back at her aunt. "Can _you_ tell me what mom was like? Was she like you?"

Chocolina took a deep breath, holding it tight. "Not... Not much."

With a tiny nod, Vanille let out a quiet sigh. "Oh."

After a moment of silence, Chocolina looked back at the stack of drawings. "Will you show me the rest of these? You're a wonderful artist..."

Vanille began to smile again. "They're just _imaginary_, though."

Chocolina let out a laugh. "That doesn't make them any less interesting!"

Vanille's gaze settled on an image, which was half-hidden beneath the others, so she tugged it out, pointing at a solitary figure in the center. "I saw her later... With the eagle."

Chocolina's eyes went wide.

"Isn't she strange? Pink hair... But it looks almost natural on her." Vanille sighed quietly. "She's so _pale_, but so was everyone up there." She turned the page to reveal another image. "Her friend is even paler."

Chocolina stared down at the depiction of a young woman, side-by-side with what looked to be almost a younger version of herself, and yet, they both carried very different expressions of their faces. The first stared down at her companion with an almost-smug look on her face, while the second had been drawn within what could only be an acrobatic stance; her arms were flung, far out to the side, with a expression that simply _screamed_ that she couldn't have __possibly__ just pulled off the maneuver she had accomplished, but there, beside her shoulders lay a most unusual sight; she bore a second set of muscular, arm-like appendages, the likes of which flared out into two pale, yet powerful wings.

* * *

A pale young woman sat quietly atop the straw-covered roof, keeping still, despite the gentle rain that trickled down against her skin; the liquid had almost completely soaked her hair, darkening the pink strands to stick down against her neck and shoulders.

"Serah?" There was a voice, calling out from below, slightly muffled by the rain. "Serah, are you still out here?"

After a moment, Serah looked down, only to see that Snow was wandering around the ground below, so she smiled, focusing on the pool of energy that swirled just within her shoulder-blades, until the rain suddenly stopped falling above Snow's head.

"What the..?" As he looked up, Snow began to laugh in recognition. "Hey! What're you doing out in the rain?"

Serah merely smiled, reaching out with the tip of her wing to tap at the top of his head. "Just waiting for Light."

After a moment of silence, save for the steady rainfall, a pair of gentle, yet heavy footsteps touched down on the roof beside her, and Serah was suddenly sheltered beneath a second set of massive, speckled wings.

"Can't let you catch a chill..." Snow began to close his eyes, tucking his own head down beneath his soft, light-brown feathers. "I'll wait here with you, if you don't mind."

Serah reached up to touch along the side of his face. "I don't mind."

Snow chuckled. "Good... 'Cause I wasn't about to let you freeze yourself to death out here."

Serah fought back a shiver. "It's not _that_ cold."

With a quiet scoff, Snow brushed his fingertips over the side of her shoulder. "That's not what your goose-bumps say."

Serah nearly rolled her eyes. "Well, _your_ wings are going to get wet..." She looked up at the droplets of rain, which were trickling down over his larger flight feathers, as well as the smaller, softer plumage that lay closer to his shoulders. "Are you sure you'd rather not wait inside?"

Snow reached up to push at his own wings from the inside, causing a small spray of water-droplets to fly away from them in a tiny arc. "I could ask you the same thing..." He looked down at Serah's smaller, white wings, which were tucked up against herself and his chest. "She should be back soon, right?"

Serah nodded with a low, quiet yawn, and she nearly closed her eyes after a moment. "She's seemed a little... Day-dreamy, lately."

"Oh?" Snow tilted his head back to look at the distant horizon, watching it from beneath the droplets that trickled away from his wings. "Something on her mind?"

Serah shrugged. "I've never been down there, to Earth... But she's been talking about this one place that she's been going to... What's it called?" Serah took a moment to think. "Gran Pulse."

Snow squinted at the horizon. "And why's she going there?"

Serah moved to the side, staring up at him with a tiny smile. "She said something about making friends... People out there that might be able to help us."

Snow almost frowned. "Friends... Humans?"

Serah blinked up at him with a shrug. "I don't think so, but she wasn't very specific." After a moment of silence, she let her eyes fall shut. "Just resting a bit."

Snow chuckled. "Sure..." He winced a little when Serah flicked at the top of his nose with her index finger, but after a while, he began to smile when her breathing slowed, relaxing beneath the steady, yet gentle patter of rain.

* * *

A battering wind almost shook her off-course, but Lightning merely grit her teeth, flapping harder against the churning, gathering clouds. "Odin... I could use a little help, here."

Swirls of soft, colorful light began to materialize at her shoulders, moving out to surround the base of her wings, and they began to both reinforce and guide each stroke and twitch of her muscles; she fought back against the wind, simultaneously clutching a large, paper bag to her chest.

"Thank you..." Lightning closed her eyes for just a moment, before she inhaled, filling her lungs with the fresh, yet chilling gusts of air. "You want to sleep inside tonight? Or will you go and find the rest of them?"

She received no verbal response, but Lightning felt a soft, gentle sensation curl out within her spine, one that lingered throughout the passing moments, even as she dipped down, beneath the clouds.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Lightning braced herself as she hurtled through the thick, misty barrier that kept the floating sliver of Cocoon in place, and slowly, her eyes began to adjust themselves to the approaching holographic veil, a guise that kept the ground below hidden from even the most curious gazes, but fortunately, she knew exactly where to look to find the massive, curving land-form that loomed just beneath her. "...Nearly home."

As she tucked her wings in, folding to descend, Lightning looked down to see a tiny, winding canyon, one that seemed empty upon first sight, but as she drew closer and closer to the ground below, her eyes went wider to see a small, subtle settlement within the ravine, or more specifically, the large figure below that sat perched atop the roof of her house.

She soon landed with only a quiet thump, moving to hold the damp, yet sturdy paper bag in one hand. "Snow."

Snow looked up, before he moved his wings aside to see her face. "Lightning... Welcome back." He tried to smile at her, but her expression still revealed no fondness for his presence, so Snow took a deep breath, before he began to speak as quietly as he could. "Serah... She wanted to wait out here for you; I was just making sure she kept dry."

Lightning looked down at her sister. "She doesn't look it."

Snow frowned. "Well, she could've gotten a lot-" He cleared his throat as Lightning turned away. "Look, I _know_ I didn't leave you with the best first impression-"

Lightning snapped back to face him. "Really? Barging in on everything during a _crucial_ moment of-" She paused, slowly releasing the breath she had been holding. "I _know_ you were just trying to help us, but it was a stupid move... And stupid moves can get us _killed,_ these days."

Snow let out a soft sigh. "I'm... I'm sorry." He moved his hands beside Serah's arms, holding her close. "But I _really_ do care about her... Give me a chance to prove it?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes, and she kept completely silent for a long moment. "One chance." She looked to the side. "Don't screw it up."

Snow's breath caught when Lightning leapt down from the roof, but after a moment, he exhaled, gently shaking Serah awake. "Serah!"

She stirred with a mumble, staring up at him with a slow, bleary gaze. "Hmm?"

Snow grinned. "Light's back... She said she'd give me a _chance_, Serah!"

Serah's eyes flew open, and she sat up as quickly as she could muster. "What? You're serious?"

Snow bit back a laugh. "I'd sure _hope_ so... She sounded like she meant it."

With a grin, Serah took hold of his hands, guiding them both down to the edge of the roof. "We should... Try to do something nice for her!" She tugged Snow over to the side, before she hopped down herself with a giggle. "Light!"

Lightning let out a sigh from inside the house. "Keep it _down_, people are sleeping."

Serah began to shake out the rain from her hair, pushing through the doorway. "Did you _really_ mean it? Snow's-" She paused when had Snow stopped just outside of the door. "Come on in, it's okay."

Snow slowly walked over to stand within the entryway, but he paused to look at Lightning's expression. "We've got some news for you, actually..." He almost startled when her gaze sharpened, before he held up his hands, shaking his head. "Nothing serious! We just discovered a new friend, today... Up in the Vestige."

Lightning turned in her chair, staring at both of them. "A friend."

Serah nodded with a grin. "A little robot! His name is Bhakti, and we helped him get out of there to find him some batteries." She pointed at a nearby window, and began to lead Snow inside so that she could close the door behind them. "And he's _really_ friendly, so we brought him back down here with us to wait for when you got back."

Lightning inhaled a deep breath, rubbing at her temples. "You brought out an unidentified machine from an ancient ruin, down to our _only_ base of operations..."

Serah started to frown. "Well, when you put it like that..." She shook her head. "He wasn't _anything_ like the stuff the Sanctum has; and I don't think that they could get near enough to plant him in there without us noticing... I mean, with all the scouting parties."

Lightning closed her eyes, breathing deep. "I'll look into it tomorrow." She shivered quietly when her wings bloomed out into existence, falling down to rest at her back. "I'm just a bit... Tired from the flight."

Serah walked over to stand beside her. "So, what happened today?" She pulled up a seat at the table, before she gestured for Snow to sit down as well. "Did everything go alright?"

Lightning nodded. "I spoke to Sazh again; we have some valuable information now, and I might have made more than a few more contacts for us down there."

Snow cleared his throat. "Sazh... Dajh's father, right?"

Lightning opened her eyes. "Yeah."

Serah reached over to squeeze at Lightning's shoulder. "You don't look so good... Did something happen?"

Lightning shook her head. "Just a difficult flight, lots of wind and rain." She blinked twice to clear her vision. "The air down there is so weird, and... Heavy."

Serah frowned. "Hard to fly in?"

Lightning nodded. "You have _no_ idea... It's like the gravity in that place is at least ten times as strong." She leaned back in her chair, slowly stretching out her wings. "I did bring something back for you, though."

Serah perked up, sitting straight in her chair. "A present?"

Lightning almost chuckled. "Close... Check the bag over there." She gestured at the counter behind her, before she turned to look over at Snow. "If you don't have plans already, you can eat with us, tonight."

Snow began to smile. "Well, as long as you don't mind..." He blinked twice as Serah started to exclaim over the unusual, foreign cuisines within the bag, rummaging around throughout its contents with a beaming expression on her face.

Slowly, a tiny smile worked its way over Lightning's face. "No, I don't mind."


	4. The Reveal

The sharp crack of wooden blades sounded off throughout the crisp, morning air, echoing back and forth along the concrete platform; the two combatants circled each other once, then twice, before they slowly began to wind back.

"You're getting faster..." Lightning lifted her blade to the side, examining the various dents and notches scattered upon the wooden surface. "At this rate, we might have to find something a bit more more sturdy."

Hope paused in place to catch his breath, before he slumped down against a nearby pillar. "You _really_ don't let up..." After a moment, he tipped his head back to stare into the rain, which had thankfully evened out into a light drizzle. "I'm not complaining, though; you're a good teacher."

Slowly, Lightning set her practice sword down against a fallen piece of concrete, before she moved to sit beside Hope. "I once had a good one, myself." She inhaled, slowly biting at her bottom lip. "Just wait 'til we get to mid-air combat, though..."

Hope had to force out a laugh. "You... You'd probably just knock me out of the air..."

Lightning kept silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought. "Years ago, I might've told you never to aim for an opponents wings... That it would be dishonorable." She held her breath, focusing on the energy within her back, before it began to swirl, churning in place. "But... We might be going up against an enemy soon, one who won't afford you the same kind of mercy."

Hope began to nod.

"Hey, you've seen a gunblade before, right?" Lightning sat upright. "It's a very versatile weapon, but without proper training, you're more likely to stab _yourself_ than your opponent."

Hope shook his head. "No up close, no."

Lightning suddenly held up her right hand. "Odin."

Within mere seconds, a long, silvery weapon had materialized against her palm, fitted with a wide, double-barreled gun-chamber, which rested just beneath the sharp, flat blade.

"You can't fire it quite as efficiently, not without..." Lightning rose up to flick the blade back, transforming the weapon into a smaller, simpler firearm. "_Shifting_ it... But when you want to enter melee again, you do it like _this_." She swung her arm back to the side, and the blade snapped out, whistling off through the air as she began to gut an imaginary enemy.

Hope tried his best to track the edge of the blade as Lightning moved around the area in a steady, yet flowing set of combat routines, but he noticed that she was keeping her eyes on both the space in front of her as well as the air above, occasionally allowing her to preform an upward strike, while her other arm seemed to unconsciously clutch at something, as if it could protect her from ground-level attacks.

"...I _used_ to have a shield for these." Lightning suddenly spun in place, and her blade snapped back, theoretically allowing a pair of bullets to fly forth. "But I lost it, before we even went into stasis."

Hope started to stand. "Could you maybe... Get a new one somewhere?"

Lightning's routine began to slowly unwind, and she soon finished the set with a sharp, forward strike, before the gunblade shivered, disappearing from her outstretched hand. "We'll just have to see." She rose up into a standing position. "But I don't have any idea where to find a capable smith in this day and age."

Hope reached over for where he had set down his own sword, but as he knelt over to pick it up, the white feather fell out from his pocket, landing just beside the blade itself. "Hey, do you think they have smithies down on that planet you went to?"

Lightning turned to face him. "It's called Earth... And it's the only other habitable one within this cluster of atmosphere; Cocoon was actually hovering next to it, for a while." She glanced over at the edge of the concrete plaza, staring down at where the jagged platform crumbled away at the edge. "They seem to use advanced artillery as their main form of weaponry... So _maybe_, but I doubt they could make me a decent shield."

Hope reached down to pick up the white feather. "Do you think... Maybe we could _all_ go down there sometime? Just to see what it's like."

Lightning grit her teeth. "This isn't like Cocoon; everyone's free to leave whenever they like."

Hope almost smiled to himself, twirling the feather between his fingertips. "I guess you're just doing a good job, then... It already feels like you're our leader."

Lightning paused. "I'm trying keep us as safe as I can, but don't get into the habit of looking up to me." She lifted her hand to cover her brow when the clouds began to part. "If this town is _ever_ going to stand on its own two feet, we can't have just one party making all the decisions."

Hope walked over to stand beside her; he was carrying both his blade, and the feather, each in one of his hands. "Well, I think that you're the only one who knows the way down there... We'd need you to guide us."

Lightning nodded. "One of these days, I will... After I've scouted out more of the city, the one that Sazh is operating from."

"What's it called?" Hope smiled a bit. "Do they name their cities, like we do?"

"Vallis, it's on the continent of Gran Pulse." Lightning stared up at the wide, rolling sky. "It has... These _buildings,_ taller than _anything_ I've ever seen; they even go up into the clouds."

Hope's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Lightning nodded. "I was almost tempted to fly up and have a look around, but down there, the Seraphim aren't... Well, we really aren't even thought to exist." She turned, facing the low, flowing hills that led up to the village canyon. "The fallen, they all live in secret, you know... Most of them have to fly invisibly, like I've been doing."

"Hey, will you teach me how to do that?" Hope stowed the feather back into his pocket. "It was pretty amazing what you did yesterday..."

Lightning held up her right hand. "It's a pretty simple trick; have you ever tried any magic before?"

Hope shook his head.

With a snap of her fingers, a soft, translucent material almost seemed to bloom out over her hand, shrouding her skin in a magical energy. "I've learned to cast it faster than we can really see, but you should start with the basics; focus on the energy in your hands."

Hope closed his eyes to concentrate, slowly holding up his arms. "Like this..?"

Lightning shook her head. "Think of it... Like an extension of the energy in your shoulders; you could even envision it like I do, where your 'wings' are sheltering you, keeping you out of sight."

After a moment, a foggy cloud of magic began to hover about Hope's hands and wrists, but he could scarcely keep a firm hold of it, and it quickly began to fade. "I think this one will take practice, too..."

"Definitely." Lightning turned to walk over the grassy edge of the concrete platform, stepping down into the field. "But that's pretty decent for a beginner, you know."

Hope followed after her. "I'll be sure to keep working on it, but, I _was_ thinking..." He looked up at the distant canyon walls. "What if we used one of the empty buildings we have as a school? Get everyone on the same page about things, you know?"

Lightning turned back to look at him with an expression that he'd never seen her show before. "That's... Actually a _very_ good idea." She glanced back at the grass. "I'll talk to Serah about it; she did mention an interest in learning advanced history back when we were kids... Maybe she would want to teach everyone some of what she knows."

Hope kept silent as they walked down within the field, but he occasionally turned to glance at the rustling grass, watching as the tiny dewdrops, and the water from the previous rainstorm came alight beneath the rising sun.

"I met someone new, yesterday." Lightning kept her gaze on the village ahead. "Said she was a scholar."

"Down on Earth?" Hope looked back at Lightning. "Was she... Like us?"

Lightning nodded. "Seraphim, yeah... She had a shop with these _strange_ little birds; it didn't even seem like they could fly."

Hope frowned. "A bird that can't fly? What, were their wings..?"

Lightning shook her head. "Not clipped, just small and fluffy... There was also this _huge_ one; I doubt it could even manage to get airborne."

"Bigger than Odin?" Hope held back a smile. "I remember when you guys flew over the village, that one time..."

Lightning nearly smiled as well, raising her arm. "Odin's pretty lightweight for his size, though..." The dove fluttered down from seemingly nowhere, to land upon her wrist. "Even when he's like that; this other bird was _massive_."

"It was friendly, though?" Hope tried to envision a creature larger than Odin's more powerful form. "I can imagine something like that would be very strong..."

"She did say it could be taken for walks, and yes, I was able to pet it just fine." Lightning moved her arm over to allow Odin to perch on her shoulder. "But it was certainly unusual."

Another voice called out. "Hey, Light!"

Lightning looked up to see a lone figure running up to them from the village. "Serah..." She glanced down at her sister's feet, or more specifically, the tiny robot that kept close to her heels.

Serah ran up to them with a grin. "Light, this is Bhakti!" She knelt down beside the machine, pointing at the solar panels on his side. "The one I talked about last night, remember?"

Bhakti chirped, swiveling to face her. "Hello."

Lightning slowly nodded. "Hello..."

"Would I be correct in assuming that you are one of the primary directors of this establishment?" Bhakti tilted himself backwards to examine her facial features. "If not, could you please direct me towards an individual of that description?"

Lightning knelt down as well. "My name is Lightning, and I'm one of the people who founded this village." She squinted to examine the little robot. "Could you tell me what sort of machine you are?"

Bhakti began to hum. "I am a high-performance mechanical recording device, designed to both collect and sort various types of advanced technical information, as well as to advise my keeper to the best of my abilities..." He paused for a moment, and his internal lights began to flicker. "Speaking of which, I simply _must_ find out if she is still in need of my assistance... But I fear that it has been _eons_ since I last awoke within the Vestige."

Lightning kept silent for a while, before she began to speak in a lower voice. "If it was before Cocoon fell, I'd say that your chances are slim." She paused to look over at Serah. "Did you see anything else in there, something that might have said his keeper went?"

Serah shook her head. "Well, it wasn't a very thorough search... But I didn't see much of anything in the immediate area."

Lightning turned back to Bhakti. "I can offer you a place to stay for now, but I'm not sure if you'd rather try to search for her..." She paused, blinking at the little machine. "What was her name?"

"Miss Hecate." Bhakti began to hum once more, swiveling around to face the pathway that led down towards the edge of the valley. "Her name was Professor Hecate, and she was really a most _brilliant_ patron of the sciences, particularly knowledgeable in the study of how the nature of prophecies can interact, and even influence the theory of chaos."

Slowly, Lightning rose to her feet. "I've never met anyone with that name, but I'll ask around next time I fly to Earth... Maybe she ended up down there, somehow."

Bhakti paused to process the idea for a moment. "Perhaps... I _have_ heard tales of scholars fleeing to Cocoon in order to bypass the magical boundaries enforced by the Sanctum."

Lightning grit her teeth. "It's more likely than not."

Hope spoke up from beside her. "I'm going to head back for now, but thank you for today's lesson."

Lightning nodded at him. "Bright and early tomorrow, no excuses."

Hope nodded as well, before he wandered off into the village.

"It's good that you've been teaching him..." Serah smiled up at her sister. "For a while, I wasn't sure if he could manage it, but I think this is really good for both of you."

Lightning turned to look at the village. "He's a decent kid." She glanced back at Serah. "He had an idea today, actually... We might want to consider setting up some sort of school, or study hall for general teaching, or maybe even magic, and the like."

Serah stood up with a wide, growing smile. "That would be _great_, wouldn't it?" She looked over at a nearby building, before she pointed at it with a nod. "That's just an old storage shack, right? With a little work, it could make a good meeting house..."

Lightning began to walk forward. "I suppose it could."

Bhakti started up his treading mechanism to roll beside her heels. "Miss Lightning? I might actually be able to offer my assistance in this matter... Especially if I were to have further access to the records kept back within the Vestige."

"It's just Lightning, or Light." Lightning walked over to tap at the side of the building with her shoe. "This is still pretty sturdy."

Serah grinned. "I'll ask Snow if he can help us paint the outside; we did see some flowers the other day, the kind that could make for some nice pigment, and if we fix up these windows..." She continued on as she pushed open the door, gesturing for Lightning to follow.

With a quick glance into the village center, Lightning moved to keep up with her sister, and with the little robot at her side, the trio entered the shed amidst a gentle, yet musty breeze.

* * *

Tapping at the side of the steering-wheel, Fang stared out at the crosswalk ahead, but when she attempted to tally up the number of teenagers that crossed it with ridiculous hairstyles, she quickly began to lose count. Soon, she was even further distracted by the sound of the passengers-side door swinging open, before it was shut once more with an accompanying sigh.

Fang cleared her throat. "Rough day?"

Vanille rubbed both of her wrists over her eyes. "Just _tiring_... Man, I can't wait for summer."

Fang chuckled a bit. "Hey, just wait 'til you're done with school... Then the _real_ exhaustion starts."

With another sigh, Vanille reached over for her seat-belt. "I could barely sleep last night..." She soon leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes when the low, rumbling ignition roused the car to life. "Could we stop somewhere on the way back? I skipped most of lunch-period to get my homework done for the weekend."

Fang began to frown as she drove out from the parking space, maneuvering past the crosswalk. "I don't like the sound of that."

Vanille merely shrugged. "We'll have time to do fun stuff now, at least." She moved to reach into her shoulder-bag, rummaging around through a jumble of papers and notebooks. "Although, I _did_ have another dream last night; I was watching someone use _magic_, up there!"

Fang narrowed her eyes at the road. "I think you might be starting to affect my dreams, actually..." As she pulled up to a stoplight, Fang turned to look at the drawings upon Vanille's lap. "It was like I was... _Falling_, through the clouds, but for some reason I wasn't even scared."

With a nod, Vanille traced over the sketch, which held a sparkling burst of magic.

"And then, for some reason..." Fang shook her head. "It was as if the _world_ had turned upside-down, and there was ground _above_ me, so I was actually headed up to it."

As they began to drive on, Vanille glanced off to the side, gazing out at the passing buildings and streets, until they had nearly become a blur of color and motion. "I wonder if something like that is even possible."

Fang shrugged. "Hey, where do you want to stop?"

Vanille turned around to face the front. "We could have an early dinner, if you want." She smiled at the road ahead. "But I think we should at least go somewhere outside; it's a beautiful day..."

With a tiny smile, Fang nodded. "We can check by the park; I did see some food trucks sitting over there today."

Vanille grinned at her. "Catch any _bad_-guys, Sergeant Fang?"

Fang rolled her eyes. "Very funny... I'm a ranger, not a cop." She shook her head after a moment. "But nobody's going to mess with the place, not on my watch... Plus the kind of trouble-makers _you're_ thinking of don't hang around in a public nature preserve."

"Not good for the image, huh?" Vanille giggled. "Yeah, let's just hang around and look moody in this colorful flower garden..."

Fang's expression suddenly sobered. "I've been seeing a lot more people your age with... Unusual get-ups."

"Yeah, I see them at school." Vanille shrugged. "Probably just a trend."

Fang glanced over at the pictures upon Vanille's lap. "Probably." She looked back at the road. "Just _don't_ let anyone pressure you into anything you don't want to do, okay?" Fang nearly grit her teeth. "Trust me, it isn't worth it."

Vanille almost began to assure her sister out loud, but when she caught the sheer, genuine look of concern in Fang's gaze, she simply nodded, adjusting the satchel at her side. "Hey, maybe we can do something cool over the weekend."

Fang nodded as she turned onto an adjacent road. "That'd be nice."

* * *

With an armful of assorted trinkets and mechanical components, Serah knelt down upon the straw roof with Bhakti by her feet, before she set down the pile in between them. "Take a look at these; maybe you can find something useful out of them."

Bhakti wheeled over to rummage through the pile of machinery. "Very interesting... It would seem that most technology has evolved considerably since the last time I was actively studying it." He reached to pick up an odd gizmo with one of his hand-like grabbers. "I wonder what _this_ could be..."

From beside Serah, Lightning looked over to glance at the device, but her gaze caught instead on the afternoon sun, and with a slight twitch of her shoulders, she sat upright. "Would you mind if I left for a while again, today?"

Serah looked up from the roof. "You'd be back at the same time, right?"

"I could try to be back sooner." Lightning blinked up at the soft, floating clouds. "The rain really held me down, yesterday."

Serah giggled to herself. "I feel bad for your _feathers_... You must've been soaking when you got back home."

Lightning shrugged. "It's better when they phase out, the rain just falls off."

Serah nodded. "Alright... Just be _careful_, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you down there." She took a moment to close her eyes, listening to the wind. "Maybe one of these days I'll go with you."

"It's... Very-" Lightning narrowed her eyes to find the right words. "Chaotic, but not entirely in a bad way; there's vehicles _everywhere_, and everyone seems to be moving from one place to another all the time."

Serah opened her eyes. "Just... Uh, not today. I want to make sure that Bhakti gets whatever he needs to feel comfortable."

Bhakti chirped at her. "My comfort level is already quite satisfied with all of this sunlight..." He began to swivel the solar panels affixed to his outer plating. "But I _do_ appreciate the sentiment; if I am to continue my existence as an assistant, I would naturally need someone to assist."

Serah patted along his outer plating. "You're a nice little robot."

Bhakti's lights flickered, before they brightened. "I am certainly glad that you think so."

Lightning turned aside, hiding a smirk as she rose to her feet. "I'll try to be back before midnight."

Serah leaned back to watch as a pair of large, white wings began to phase out from within Lightning's jacket, expanding out and over over her shoulders, only to snap aside in the wind. As Serah examined them further, it almost seemed as if Lightning's arms had been but an afterthought; long, powerful muscles almost seemed to crawl down from her shoulders, growing out along her upper chest, and her sternum slowly expanded, allowing the base of her wings to connect with each of the wide, tapered muscles.

"Keep out of trouble while I'm away..." Lightning smiled down at her sister, before a quick jump and a snap of her wings caught her entire body against the wind, sending her airborne.

Serah giggled, waving up at the sky. "No promises!"

As Lightning flew off, drifting beneath the glowing sun, Serah caught the vague echo of a chiding, yet good-natured shout, but she couldn't quite hear what her sister had said, so slowly, Serah sat back down, staring out at the horizon.

"I would be very interested in seeing this city she speaks of..." Bhakti reached out to poke at one of the jumbled pieces of metal. "I have heard some of the most intriguing things about Earth, but I have never left Cocoon since my time studying there."

Silently, Serah watched the distant, flying form until it had disappeared into the distance, before she let her eyes fall shut. "Maybe we can both go."

Bhakti hummed quietly to himself, examining a circular bit of metal, but after a moment, he paused to look back at Serah. "Would you please tell me in detail, what happened to Cocoon while I was inactive?"

Serah bit at her bottom lip. "Well, it's a long story..."

* * *

Between her hands, Fang crumpled up a bit of paper packaging, before she walked up beside a trash-bin, tossing it in. "I can't even tell you how many times these people miss..."

Vanille giggled from beside her. "At least it gives you something to clean up!" She glanced around at the surrounding park, and inhaled the scent of wind, grass, and flowers. "This place is beautiful."

Fang paused for a moment, before she turned, staring out at the park itself. While she had often walked along each path and side-street more times than she could count, there was still _something_ about the vast stretch of wildlife, resting deep within the heart of the city that gave her pleasant chills.

Vanille smiled against the wind. "We could come back here over the weekend, maybe." She strolled out along the cobblestone path, gazing up at a flock of birds. "It's so _warm_ already, we probably wouldn't even need to bring jackets."

Fang began to walk beside Vanille. "Well, let's see what we feel like tomorrow." She began to glance down the pathway, before a certain sound caught her attention; the call itself was quite alike the cry of a peacock, yet there was more of a warble to it, almost musical, which brought a smile to her lips. "Hey, it sounds like we might see a familiar face..."

Vanille shook her head with a grin. "Those silly birds! I wonder how she's even keeping them sane in that little apartment."

Fang shrugged. "Might as well go say hello..." She turned to glance at the slowly setting sun, before she made her way down the winding path, approaching a large row of hedges. "I'm just surprised that she hasn't gotten in trouble with the city-" Fang's voice almost caught, and she slowly narrowed her eyes.

Vanille froze in place when she spotted the nearby creature. "That's..."

With a quiet sigh, Fang glanced back at Vanille. "You didn't _tell_ me she was real."

Vanille nearly shivered. "She's... Not?"

Fang frowned at her sister, before she looked back over at the lone woman, the one who was leading a _ridiculously_ large bird around the park, tethered by a rope harness tied around both its neck and beak. "What do you mean, she's not? She's standing right over there."

Vanille's breath grew short, and she started to shake her head back and forth. "I've never seen her before in my _lif___e___..!_ Fang, I wouldn't lie about this."

Fang rolled her eyes. "Then go and say hello."

Vanille looked away, until a gentle nudge from Fang's wrist sent her forward. "Fang!"

Fang grinned at her. "C'mon, you've gotta know her from _somewhere_... Maybe she's an old friend you forgot about." Fang looked up at the woman in question, staring at her unusual shade of hair. "Although if you drew her like an _angel_, I've gotta wonder just what kind of relationship you guys had..."

Vanille flushed, still shaking her head. "_Fang_, I swear I haven't-"

Fang merely winked, pushing Vanille along. "Go say _hi_." She stepped back with a nod. "If she doesn't recognize you, I'll believe it."

Vanille huffed, before she turned in place, slowly making her way down the path.

A loud squawk rang out over the area, and with a roll of her eyes, Lightning reached up to pat along the bird's neck. "You're being _awfully_ loud."

As Chocolina had called him, 'Beaky' decided at that _very_ moment to yank in a seemingly random direction, chortling off at something in the distance.

"Damn, bird..." Lightning tightened her grip of the rope tether, and the muscles in her arm flexed, keeping the bird firmly at her side. "I'm starting to regret-"

"Uh... Hello."

Lightning glanced over the side, taking sight of the young woman who had been quickly nuzzled by the giant bird, and yet she merely giggled, patting along his fluffy head.

"That's a _good_ birdy..." Vanille whispered up at the giant creature, stroking along his feathers. "Do you work at the shop he's from?"

Lightning cleared her throat. "Well, you could say that... I'm going to be getting some language lessons from the owner in return for this."

Vanille nodded to herself. "That would be my aunt.. She has a good eye for people." She laughed when the bird began to preen her hair with his beak. "And animals, too!"

Lightning slowly began to smile, glancing at Vanille's aura. "You'd be a Seraph too, then."

Vanille looked back at her. "A what?"

Lightning stilled, before her eyes went slightly wide. "Wait... But, _you're_-" She caught herself in time, breathing only slightly faster than before. "That's uh, the language... It's a dead one."

Vanille turned to face Lightning, staring at her expression. "I'd be a dead language?"

Lightning quickly covered her eyes with her free hand. "_Shit_."

Slowly, a grin grew over Vanille's face, and she moved to stand on her tiptoes, leaning forward to further examine the woman before her. "I _knew_ you were something special!"

Lightning peered out at Vanille from between her fingers. "It's not-"

"Shush!" Vanille reached into her shoulder-bag, before she tugged out a handful of papers, shoving them over in Lightning's direction. "Just _look_ at these... Tell me I'm crazy."

With a soft sigh, Lightning moved her hand back down to take one of the pictures. "This is..." Her eyes went a bit wider. "But, you said-"

"I said what?" Vanille's voice rose in pitch as she tried to hand over more of the drawings. "Please, just _tell_ me what these mean! I've been having__dreams,___ visions_ about them and everything, but I've never seen them before in my life, honest!"

"Vanille?"

Lightning turned to look at the taller woman that had since walked up to them, and her chest tightened at the sudden, _overwhelming_ aura that rolled out, carrying off into her own presence, nearly choking her with intensity.

"Vanille, what's wrong?" Fang looked between them, noticing the sudden grimace on Lightning's features. "Hey, what's-"

Lightning cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, but this would sound insane to you if I tried to explain it."

Fang leaned aside with only a single, elegant eyebrow quirked. "Well, I've dealt with plenty of 'insane'..."

Lightning slowly allowed herself to relax, despite the constant waves of constant, incredible pressure that almost seemed to radiate off of Fang's presence. "These... They came to you in dreams?"

Vanille nodded at her, clutching at the drawings with whitened, shaking fingertips.

Lightning took a deep breath. "Well, your aunt... Has she ever mentioned... Exactly where she came from?"

Both Fang and Vanille shared a glance, before they looked back at the stranger, confusion twisting upon both of their faces.

* * *

The stars slowly began to appear upon the rich, evening sky, but they soon became hidden by the lights of the glittering city below; cars and buses still rumbled off into the early, restless night, while the sounds of pedestrian footfalls sent a gentle rhythm above the sidewalk itself.

"...And you're telling me that this is based in reality?" Fang stared at the head of pink hair, drifting before her, but her new-found companion refused to even look back at her. "That you came from some 'magic' city, which floats in the sky?" Fang exhaled, shaking her head with a quiet grumble, but she kept walking, throughout the narrow sidewalk. "I'm starting to think that everyone's taken the punch but me..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the street ahead. "I wouldn't expect you to believe me, but if you actually have human parentage-"

Fang let out a bitter laugh. "_Human_ parentage? What the _hell_ else would we-?"

"Fang!" Vanille tugged at Fang's sleeve. "C'mon... Be polite."

Fang rolled her eyes. "I don't really think I need to be polite to a _madwoman_."

Vanille glared up at her. "Well, how do you explain this, with all of my dreams? You can _ask_ her, we've never even met before!"

Fang covered her own eyes with a sigh. "Yeah, just ask the crazy-" She inhaled, before she lowered her hand to look back at Vanille. "I'm sorry, Van... This is just hard to take in."

Vanille glanced down at her feet. "But you _do_ believe us? I don't want to be crazy..."

Fang set her her arm down around Vanille's shoulders. "You're not crazy, and even if you were, it wouldn't matter to me..." She ruffled at Vanille's hair with her free hand. "Hey, I'm not about to let something silly like that get between us, you hear?"

Vanille slowly began to smile. "Thank you."

Lightning glanced back at them from over her shoulder. "You two are... Good sisters." Her voice was a near whisper, yet it was still audible above the din of the crowd. "Trust me, I know firsthand."

Fang let Vanille lean against her, still holding firm at the side of her arm. "So... If what you're saying is true... That there _is_ some other 'world' out there, then what did you say it made us? Nephil-something?"

"Nephilim." Lightning looked back at the sidewalk. "You can ask your aunt... She's just like me, a Seraph, or one of the Seraphim."

Vanille moved to clutch at the handle of her shoulder-bag. "So Seraphim are like... Angels, right?"

Lightning looked back with a raised brow. "Angels..? I think I've heard that word once or twice."

"It's like a heavenly spirit." Fang waved her index finger at the sky. "A messenger of the gods, if you believe in all that."

Lightning shook her head. "I'm not a spirit." She glanced at her own shoulder. "The closest thing I can think of... To that description, it would have to be a familiar."

"A familiar..? So what _are_ Seraphim?" Fang quickened her pace to keep up with Lightning, who was still leading with the giant bird beside her. "Vanille drew all of these pictures, and some of these people look like normal humans, but then..."

Lightning nearly smiled. "Some of them have wings?"

Fang nodded. "What about _you?_" She reached out to tap at Lightning's shoulder, despite the wince it caused. "What makes you not-human?"

Lightning gently tugged the tethered creature to stand beside her, stopping beside a lamppost. "Just let me get him back home... If you really want me to, I'll prove it to you, but we aren't exactly in the most secluded place." She nodded at the crowd, indicating at the sort of lingering stares a giant bird received within a busy sidewalk. "I might actually need to do something soon, the kind of thing that would be better with a few Nephilim around... So I'm willing to try and help you, if you'll trust me in return."

Fang tipped her head to the side. "Help us with what, exactly?" She nearly shivered when a set of cool, blue eyes locked into her own gaze, but she kept it stifled with a quick intake of breath. "Even _if_ you _are_ something supernatural-"

"You have a very unusual... Aura." Lightning took a slow step forward. "Humans don't usually even have one, but if you're _really_ descended from-" She paused, blinking against the oncoming sensation. "I've never felt one like that, and you never know, it might turn out to be dangerous."

Fang kept her mouth to a thin line, before she turned to look away, gazing off into the bustling street. "...We live at the corner of Third Street and Abbey." She glanced back at Lightning. "Meet us on the roof without climbing anything, and I might just start to believe it."

Vanille waved back at Lightning as she was guided away. "It was very nice to meet you!"

Lightning simply nodded, before she reached up to gently pat at the animal beside her.

For a moment, Fang stared down at the sidewalk. "This is pretty... Strange."

Vanille looked up at her with a smile. "It's _exciting!_" She nudged against Fang's shoulder with her own. "Don't lie, this is super cool!"

Fang rolled her eyes, but she couldn't quite help the smile creeping over her lips. "She is pretty cute, I'll give her that."

Vanille let out a scoff. "Oh yeah, the city in the sky? Magic and wings, so _boring_... The woman we met from my dreams, yeah, she's just _'cute'_."

Fang grinned. "Hey, I won't blame you for dreaming about her!"

With a sigh, Vanille grumbled, leaning against Fang's shoulder. "You're _hopeless_..."

Fang could only smile in return.


	5. Flock

A soft ray of sunlight filtered in from the shutters, hanging just beside beside the windowsill, and while the breeze blew steadily inside from the window itself, a mesh-like covering kept most of the airflow from reaching the small, crackling fire that sat within a metallic contraption.

"If I can _just_ get this warm enough..." Serah started to frown at the tiny flame, which barely clung on to the assorted bits of stacked, mossy wood that she had placed there. "We've been trying to ration fuel, you see."

Bhakti sat a good distance away from the stove, but he swiveled just a bit to examine the hearth, humming quietly to himself. "Perhaps we might find additional power clusters somewhere within the Vestige..." He paused to turn in place, facing the open doorway. "However, judging by the sample that we last recovered, most of their their potency has most likely been quite severely diminished."

With a slow nod, Serah drew in a long breath, before she released it against the fire, stoking the flame into a brighter, growing blaze. "Well, I'm just glad that this area still has a lot of trees..."

A third voice suddenly spoke up, but his tone was much more youthful than Serah herself. "Oh, I went climbing on one yesterday! There was some really weird fruit up in there, and it looked super prickly." A young boy was sitting at the kitchen table, doodling away upon a thin piece of paper. "Maybe you guys can check if it's safe to eat?"

Serah glanced at him with a smile. "I'll ask Snow to take a look when he has the chance... He said that he'd figured out which berries not to eat out there when his group was hiding." She moved over to reach for the handle of a shallow, rectangular device. "Dajh, would you like to help me out with dinner?"

Dajh grinned at her. "Yeah! I used to help dad make it all the time." He hopped down to walk over to the counter. "What're we making?"

Serah set down an opaque container upon the counter-top. "Well, I did manage to find a few nice things in the garden today..." She pointed at a basket by the corner, which held quite a few different vegetables within. "And we have still some leftovers from the hunt last weekend."

Dajh's eyes went wide. "What'd they catch this time? I didn't see it when they came back..."

"I think it was one of those big turtle-things." Serah opened the case to reveal several slices of thin, marbled meat. "I would've gone out with them too, but that was the day your roof was leaking, remember?"

Dajh nodded. "I'm glad the rain stopped..."

Serah laughed a little, before she reached up for a hanging skillet. "Me too! It was starting to get pretty gloomy around here..." She set the pan down against the counter. "I'm glad you came to visit today... You aren't getting lonely over there, are you?"

Dajh shook his head. "I like my house!" He watched as Serah began to slice the meat into smaller sections. "And everyone here is real nice."

Serah nodded as she worked. "Maybe when Lightning shows us the way down to Earth... You'd want to see your dad again, right?"

Dajh stood up on his tiptoes with a wide, beaming grin. "Yeah! He's been gone a _real_ long time, so it would be great! We could do stuff together again, and I can tell him about everything that happened!"

Serah smiled at Dajh's tone. "I know he'll be real happy to see you again... How long has it been?"

Dajh paused for a moment. "I don't remember." He blinked, thinking back. "And we all went to sleep that one time..."

Serah nodded. "It _was_ a long time..." She pointed at the basket of vegetables. "Will you grab those for me?"

Dajh reached up for the basket. "Hey, where did Light go? Did they go hunting again?"

Serah shook her head, and she began to examine the various, colorful plants, turning a few of them over in her hands. "No, Light just has some errands to do... She might even be visiting your dad again."

Dajh grinned. "I'll ask her next time if we can go, too!"

Serah began to cut along the edge of a wide, purple tuber, peeling away the skin. "I spoke with her just a little earlier today; as long as it isn't raining again, we should be all fine to fly together."

Dajh pointed at the basket. "Can I help, too?"

Serah nodded, before she handed over a couple of tomatoes to him. "Wash these for a moment, and then we can start slicing them."

Dajh walked over to turn on the sink, and Serah's gaze caught along the water itself, illuminated slightly by the evening sun.

"I'll ask Snow if he wants to eat with us tonight..." Serah smiled, closing her eyes as the wind gently tousled her hair. "Dinner's always better with company."

* * *

Fang sat herself down with a low sigh, leaning back against the wall of the stairwell, which led back down to their apartment building. "Still can't believe you talked me into this..."

Vanille was staring up at the sky. "Well you _can't_ just tell her to meet us here and then not even show up to see it through!" She moved to sit down on the bench beside Fang, tugging her jacket closer to herself. "In my dreams, it all looked so _easy_... Just one jump and a flap, and you're up there."

Fang reached down into her pocket for her phone. "Mh-hm."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "You're gonna _miss_ it! And then you'll feel real sorry..." She sighed, looking back to face the horizon. "She'll get here, right? It would be silly to say stuff like that and not mean it."

Fang kept silent, staring into the gentle glow beside her hand.

Vanille began to swing her feet back and forth. "Well, _I_ think she was telling the truth." She let her eyes fall shut for a moment, before she opened them again, standing up. "I know you don't really trust too many people, Fang..."

"No, it's not that." Slowly, Fang switched her phone off with a shake of her head. "Listen... When you hear something that doesn't make sense, you try to explain it to yourself, right?"

Vanille began to nod.

"But when things _don't_ make sense..." Fang chuckled a little. "It's just a little difficult to accept, sometimes."

A low voice interrupted Vanille's response. "I know the feeling."

Vanille suddenly covered her own mouth with a gasp, and she turned in place to face the building behind her, or more specifically, the woman perched atop the roof shelter of the stairwell.

"_Damn_..." Fang narrowed her eyes at the sight, but soon, a smirk began to tug at her lips. "Weren't kidding, were you?"

Lightning sat with her legs dangling slightly over the side of the roof, while she kept her wings folded beside her shoulders, covering both her upper chest and neck. "I wouldn't joke about this."

Fang slowly leaned to the side, inspecting the sight before her. "Hey, what sort of wingspan is that? At least ten, maybe fifteen feet?"

Lightning rose slightly to lift her wings out, stretching them wide across the rooftop. "I'd say closer to fifteen."

Vanille finally found the will to speak, before she began to quietly step forward. "I _knew_ it..."

With a nod, Lightning moved, only to drop down from the roof, landing almost silently beside them. "I'm... Not entirely sure what to say."

Vanille glanced away. "I'm not, either..."

Fang stepped forward with a grin. "Lemme see?"

Lightning stilled, drawing her wings a bit closer to herself. "See... What?"

Fang reached up to poke at her own shoulder. "Those feathers, they look neat."

Lightning fought back the flush of color, the tingle of heat in her cheeks as Fang suddenly reached out to run her fingers over the upper edge of said wing, lingering for a moment along one of her primary feathers.

"Man, I bet you could get some real good speed with these..." Fang brushed her fingertips over the softer side of the feather's vane, before she let her hand drop back to her side. "We went indoor-skydiving just a couple years back; I'd imagine it being a bit similar."

Lightning moved her wings back, folding them aside, and Fang caught a glimpse of how the lower, secondary feathers swept down along her lower back, meeting up again with the opposite wing at the area below her waist. There were further feathers, longer ones near the small of her back, which Fang assumed could only be to help aid her in a sudden stop, or for landing.

"Sky-diving?" Lightning's wings suddenly began to fade with a quiet rustle, before they disappeared completely, allowing her upper chest to reform as well. "I'm not really familiar with a lot of things down here."

Vanille spoke, grinning all the while. "It's when you jump from an airplane with a parachute on... I wasn't old enough for the real thing, and I was only brave enough for one try."

Fang smirked. "You didn't even freak out, though! Made it all the way to the end without so much as a peep."

"Well, you and the instructor were both there..." Vanille looked back at Lightning. "But that's... I mean, _wow_."

Lightning drew in a long breath, before she began to speak in a softer, quiet tone. "What I said about Cocoon is true, and it's where I was born... But it's nearly all gone, now." She slowly looked skyward, feeling the wind brush up against her shoulders and back. "We live on a tiny _shard_ of it... Just big enough to keep us away from the Sanctum."

Vanille frowned. "What's the Sanctum?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "They were... Supposed to keep everything in check, keep everyone _safe_." She closed her eyes for a moment, before she started to shake her head. "I nearly lost my sister to them, along all the rest..."

Vanille's eyes lit up. "She's in my drawings too, right? She looks _just_ like you!"

Lightning opened her eyes to slowly nod. "I've actually... Heard of dreams being used by seers for prophetic readings." After a moment, she shrugged. "They weren't in practice very much when I was a kid, but we did hear about them in history lessons."

"What sort of 'readings'?" Fang glanced over at Vanille. "You're saying she might be some sort of prophet?"

Lightning shook her head. "I don't know for sure... But what I _do_ know is that they could be useful for keeping yourself safe." She nodded at Vanille. "Keep on drawing them, and make notes; it could come in handy."

Vanille nodded back. "I definitely will... I'll write down exactly what happens, too."

"Alright." Fang looked up as a strong, blustery chill swept over the roof. "Getting a little breezy..." She turned to face Lightning. "Mind if we take this inside?"

Lightning shook her head. "I told my sister I'd try to be back before dark... It should be almost sundown by there at this point."

Fang looked her over, gazing at the way that Lightning's clothes bore several marks of both age and usage; her jeans were almost completely worn off at the knees, and her sneakers carried several scuffs and holes, around both the toe and side areas. Beneath her jacket, her shirt showed signs of repeated mending, stitched in some places by tiny threads, and in others, left unimpaired.

Fang almost swore that one of the rips looked as if it had been torn by a blade, or something equally as sharp, but she kept that suspicion to herself. "Hey..." She gestured at the stairwell. "She can wait a while for us to get you something warmer to wear, right?"

Lightning glanced at her feet. "I don't carry any money on me... It's always fallen out once I get airborne."

Fang only smirked. "Don't worry, it'll be on us."

* * *

With a shot-glass positioned between his fingers, Sazh leaned back, gazing into the wide, crackling flames, before he pinched at the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "You're telling me... It just up and _disappeared?_" Shaking his head, Sazh quickly downed the bitter liquid. "How the _heck_ do you lose a thing like that?"

Amodar waved his arms to the side. "Yeah, yeah... I _know_." He soon reached for his own drink, moving the glass around in his fingertips. "That's why I'm suspecting a thief... This sort of thing doesn't just go missing on its own."

Sazh frowned. "Then _why_ aren't you out searching for it?!"

Amodar rolled his eyes. "Think about it for a minute... It's no ordinary watch." He moved to sip at his drink with a sigh. "If the bugger sees me coming to get it back, I'm toast." Amodar nearly chuckled. "Unless he's only human, of course... Can't do much when a _fallen's_ on your ass, now can you?"

After a moment of silence, Sazh set his feet up, propping them beside the nearby fireplace, just out of reach of the flames. "You're assuming it's a_ 'he'_... Plenty of ladies turn to pick-pocketing."

Amodar shrugged. "Suppose that could be true... Well, _whoever_ it was, we'll be lucky if they just nicked it for the sake of pawning it off; now, if they _do_ know what it does..."

Sazh bit back a grimace. "I'll ask around tomorrow, see what I can find." He leaned back in his chair, staring up into the slow, dancing shadows cast out by the hearth. "Hell, if I see Lightning tomorrow, I might even try to get her on the case as well."

Amodar began to grin. "Real firebrand, wasn't she? Nearly thought we'd have a brawl on our hands..."

"She's... An interesting one." Sazh set his glass down on the table. "I first got in contact with her _long_ after the fall; I had to make sure my son was safe, you know."

Amodar nodded.

"So, I go to Chocolina, ask her all 'nicely' and everything, if she'd _please_ send out a distress beacon for me..." Sazh smiled to himself. "Several years after the fact, guess who picks up?"

"...Sparky herself?" Amodar chuckled. "So what, she finds your kid, and takes him in?"

Sazh nodded with a soft sigh. "They've got him a place all for himself... But something was a little off."

"Off?" Amodar took another sip of his drink. "Don't tell me kiddo got _hurt__..._"

Sazh shook his head. "No, no... Nothing like that." He closed his eyes, before he slowly let them slide open, staring into the flames. "He's just... A little younger than he's supposed to be; even before the stasis, if he wasn't aging right... All those _years _with no dad, no mom..."

Amodar bit back a sigh. "Wouldn't he have been taken in by that point, by someone? Who was looking after him, before all of that?"

Sazh grit his teeth. "The Sanctum."

* * *

With a short, quiet intake of breath, Lightning pushed back the dark, silky jacket to rest over her shoulders, before she turned, taking sight of herself in the mirror by her side. The sleek, inner material fit snugly around her chest and arms, but she still found herself able to turn and move around with ease, while the leather itself made very little noise with each step she took.

"You doing okay in there?" Vanille's voice was slightly muffled by the closed doorway, but Lightning could still make out the gentle, if overlying concern in her tone. "If you need a different size-"

"No... It's fine." Lightning stared down at herself for one more moment, before she turned to face the door. "I just have to try on the rest of these."

Vanille giggled quietly. "I can't believe Fang got you to try the leather on..." She started to lean against the wall, right beside the changing-room door. "I'll bet it looks great on you, though."

Lightning winced a little when she attempted to draw out her wings, but without a prior enchantment, the clothing kept her from managing it. "I'm not too familiar with the fashion down here... I really wasn't in Cocoon, either; that was more of my sister's thing."

"What's her name?" Vanille began to move a silken scarf between her hands, tapping her feet against the opposite wall. "You said yours was Lightning... It _is_ a little unusual, but it sounds really cool."

"Serah." Lightning tugged on a pair of jeans. "_Yes_, like the other thing."

Vanille stifled a laugh. "Serah, the..?"

Lightning slowly bit down on her bottom lip, scarcely containing her own laughter. "_Don't_..."

Vanille shook her head back and forth. "No, it's a _very_ pretty name."

"What's a pretty name?" Fang's voice echoed about the hallway, along with her footsteps. "Van, you're all __giggly__..."

Vanille held her breath for a long moment, before she finally spoke in a slightly lower tone. "It's nothing, Fang."

"Alright..." Fang pushed up a small pile of clothes to hang from the top of the door. "Try these on if you need 'em."

Lightning glanced up at the clothing. "...You aren't handing me anything embarrassing, right?"

Fang knocked against the edge of the door with her knuckles. "Hey, you wanted us to trust you, so give a little back."

Lightning nodded to herself. "Sorry, I will."

After a moment, Vanille spoke up. "Are you... You sound pretty serious most of the time; is that just-?"

"Not just for your benefit." Lightning reached over to slip on a tee-shirt, before she lifted her right hand to trace over the hem of the collar. "I'm... Somewhat of a leader, back home; talk to people like that, and they won't worry as much."

Both Vanille and Fang went silent for a while, so Lightning started to pick up the clothing atop the door, before she turned, staring off into the mirror. "If it bothers you, I'll-"

"No, no..." Vanille shifted herself against the door-frame, fidgeting slightly. "I was just wondering; I don't mind."

"We _all_ have stuff like that." Fang's voice was quiet, low, yet gentle. "...So don't worry about it, Lightning."

Lightning almost smiled. "Call me Light." She soon tugged on another shirt, a pale one, and her gaze caught on the swirling, abstract design along the front, which almost reminded her of a warm, cloudy day.

"Light." Fang tapped at the door again. "It's a good name for you."

* * *

After setting down a stack of dishes into the warm, soapy water, Serah glanced up over her shoulder, and she began to smile at the sight she received. "Nice of you to help."

Snow smiled back. "Hmm." He reached over her shoulders to lift up a canister of liquid soap. "Figured it was only fair..."

"Why's that?" Serah moved to the side, allowing him a little more space by the sink. "I don't mind taking care of dinner."

Snow shrugged. "I know, but I just like to pitch in." He reached over for the pan that sat upon the counter-top. "When I was little, we had a... Well, you could _call_ it a gang, but we weren't really troublemakers; we were just young, _hotblooded_... All pissing on the Sanctum doorstep before anyone else even was."

Serah sent him a sidelong glance. "Why were you so pissed off?"

Snow shook his head. "Ah, when your parents don't... When they don't come back from the war-"

Serah's expression fell.

"You either... You can act like you're still waiting for them, but someone eventually figures out the ruse, and then you get sent to an orphanage." Snow inhaled a sharp, yet quiet breath. "...I guess I wasn't a very good actor."

Slowly, Serah reached over to touch his forearm. "You don't have to-"

"It's okay." Snow tried to smile at her. "It was years ago, you know? All in the past... But it _screws_ you up, though." He reached up to caress her smaller hand with his own, still soapy from the dishwater. "When we made a break for it, we started to... Age, again. When you're in there, everything starts to slow down... Like nothing can change, nothing ever _moves_."

Serah glanced over her shoulder, to where Dajh had been sitting near moments ago. "Reminds me, Dajh is... Well, from what Lightning told me, he acts a little young for his age... Looks like it, too."

Snow nodded. "It's the _rooms_... You get stuck in there for a hundred years, being treated like an damn invalid... It _gets_ to you."

"Calm down." Serah reached over to hold the top of his hand. "You're _out_ of there now, it's okay."

With a shaky exhale, Snow leaned forward, nodding. "Sorry, I'm... I'm alright." He took a deep breath, before slowly, the tension in his shoulders began to unwind. "I'm okay."

Serah smiled. "That's good." Quickly, almost before he even noticed, she set a quick kiss upon the side of his face. "Hey, I'm going to see that Dajh made it home alright; I'll be right back."

As she stepped out, passing through the front door, Snow slowly continued to scrub away the grease from the pan in his hands, but before long, a wide, creeping blush moved out from his ears to his face, and he began to smile to himself.

* * *

Glancing down at her new jacket, and the older shirt beneath it. Lightning clutched at the bag in her hand, as well as the railing before her. They stood just beside a lowered patio, and both several tables and chairs lay below, tended to by people in types of clothing that she had never even _heard_ of before, much less encountered.

"It might _look_ fancy, but don't sweat it." Fang patted at Lightning's back. "It's just a nice place to get lunch, maybe dinner." She waved over at Vanille, who had already walked up to find them a table.

"This is-" Lightning paused, simply to breathe, taking in both the sounds and sights of such a colorful crowd, constantly moving all around her within the wide, outdoor plaza. "It's just a little much..."

"Hey, just breathe." Fang winked at her from the corner of her gaze. "You looked like you needed a little fun, so let us take care of it."

Lightning slowly nodded, concentrating on the position of her hands to slow down the rate of her breath. "This is... Very kind of you."

Fang grinned. "Hey, it's not everyday you see something like _those_..." She glanced at Lightning's shoulders. "I know we've never really met before today, but Vanille's been going on and _on_ about these dreams for quite some time... It's good to finally know that she wasn't just dreaming."

"Well, I... I don't mean to complain, but-" Lightning quieted when she met Fang's gaze, and her words stilled upon her tongue.

"But..?" Fang tilted her head slightly, causing her dark, wavy hair to brush down over her own shoulders. "You alright, there?"

Lightning nodded. "Your-" She lowered her voice. "The thing I talked about before; yours is just a little overwhelming."

Fang leaned aside to rest both her elbow and forearm on the railing. "Hey, nobody's gonna listen in on us, and if they do, they won't care." She smiled a bit. "So, what's this 'aura' stuff?"

Lightning paused, running her own fingertips together beside the banister. "It's the energy within and around someone." She looked down at herself. "You can't see much of your own, but you can still feel it there... You can see it more easily on someone else."

Fang made a low, thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. "So, how can I see yours? Or is this another special kind of thing?"

Lightning shrugged. "I don't know much about Nephilim, or their abilities."

Fang narrowed her eyes at a lingering passerby. "Yeah, it's a _weird_ part of the game for sure..."

Lightning followed her gaze. "What?"

Fang waited until the bystander had moved on. "Nothing, just making us some cover." She turned back to face Lightning. "So, how can I _see_ this-"

"Fang!" Vanille hopped up, waving her arms above the crowd. "C'mon, we've got a table!"

Fang chuckled under her breath. "We can talk while we eat..." When Lightning didn't follow, she reached over to tap at the top of her hand. "Light, this way."

Lightning looked up with a quick nod. "Uh, where are we..?"

"The tables." Gently, Fang tugged her by the wrist. "Didn't you have restaurants back in Cocoon?"

Lightning looked to the side. "I don't know what that is."

Fang merely nodded. "I'll explain, just follow me."

As they walked out, traveling through the crowd, Lightning's gaze caught on several different sights; both the outer terrace itself and the dining area were accented with vibrant, live flowers, and large elaborate fountains. Lightning caught herself thinking of home when they passed beneath a long, vine-covered archway, but she quickly sent such thoughts back into the corner of her mind, and focused on following after Fang.

"Here we are..." Fang sat down beside Vanille, gesturing for Lightning to sit as well. "Well, just stick to something quick if you're in a hurry to get home."

Lightning looked down at the thin, embossed pamphlet as it was set down before her. "Okay."

With a smile, the waiter opened up a similar booklet from above. "May I start you ladies off with something to drink?"

Fang spoke up. "Water to start, but we'll need just a minute to decide." She waited until they were relatively alone, before Fang reached over to tap at the sheet beside Lightning's hand. "You just order from the menu, here."

Vanille looked between them with a tiny frown. "She doesn't..?"

Fang shrugged. "Guess not." She looked up to catch Lightning's gaze. "Where'd you guys get your meals from, up there? Just at home?"

Lightning slowly began to nod. "The government handled food distribution... Families were expected to prepare and cook for themselves."

Fang let out a low whistle. "No restaurants? No grocery stores?" At Lightning's silence, she leaned slightly to the side. "Hey, don't look so glum."

Lightning only blinked.

Fang chuckled. "Well, now you've got the chance to try it out, right? Doesn't matter if you hadn't before."

Vanille smiled at Lightning. "If you want one of the specialty drinks, it's our treat." She pointed at the first page of the menu. "They keep the alcoholic stuff separate, so-"

Fang nudged at Vanille's shoulder. "She's old enough to drink."

Vanille rolled her eyes with a grimace. "Just let me _explain_ it!" After a moment, she looked back at Lightning. "How old _are_ you, anyway?"

Fang grit her teeth. "_Vanille_."

Quietly, Lightning cleared her throat. "Well, at the time of the fall, I was six-thousand, five-hundred and thirty-nine."

Vanille's eyes went wide. "What..?"

Fang couldn't help but stare as well.

With a shrug, Lightning glanced down at the menu. "But I was in stasis for at least fifty years, and we've been in New Bodhum for around two..." She looked back at them both, gazing between each of their expressions. "What, how old are _you?_"

Fang slowly let out a laugh. "Twenty three..."

Vanille took even longer to reply. "Fourteen."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "You'd be infants at that age."

Fang cleared her throat. "I get the feeling we mature at different rates..."

Lightning slowly glanced over both of them. "You aren't kidding?"

Vanille forced herself to laugh. "Neither are you..?"

After a long moment, Fang reached down for her own menu. "Well, I don't really think it makes a lick of difference at this point." She paused to smirk at Lightning. "I _do_ think you're more than old enough for booze, but it might be a bit difficult to get back home if you're tipsy..."

Lightning nearly rolled her eyes. "For sure." She slowly opened the booklet, glancing along the _(thankfully)_ familiar language of writing, before she turned the page. "What's a quail?"

Vanille frowned a little. "Um, just skip that page..."

Fang leaned over to see. "Why?"

Vanille nearly flushed, rolling her eyes with a whisper. "_Because,_ she's a-"

Fang let out a laugh. "What, you don't think birds of prey snack on _vegetables_, do you?" She ruffled Vanille's hair. "Let Light pick out what she wants."

Lightning peered over the menu, simultaneously cursing the lack of photographic description and the names of strange, unintuitive things. "Can you fill me in, here?"

Vanille reached over to point at the top of the page. "Poultry, it's stuff like chickens or ducks... Little birds."

Lightning nodded. "Like your aunt has in her shop."

Vanille nodded back. "Well, I assumed since..." She looked at Lightning's shoulders. "I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable with eating something like that."

After a moment of silence, Lightning shrugged. "It's fine, pets are different than the sort of animals you hunt." She nearly considered summoning Odin for a moment, but she quickly thought better of it. "I've hunted wild birds before, things like geese, ducks... So don't worry."

Fang set her own menu down with a nod. "What sorts of pets do they have up there?"

Lightning stared along the various lines of text as she spoke. "Well, my sister has a moogle familiar, and mine is named Odin... He's usually a dove or an eagle, depending on the situation."

Vanille squinted at her. "What's a moogle?"

"They're usually small and fluffy, but Serah's is very large for his species." Lightning gestured at a nearby tree. "Standing, he's about the height of that first branch, there."

Fang leaned over to look, before she whistled quietly. "Pretty tall."

Lightning traced over something on the menu. "I've heard of galettes... Serah used to make them for breakfast, sometimes."

"Oh!" Vanille grinned as she flipped her own menu around to point at it. "If you like those, they have dessert crepes too."

Lightning smiled. "With fruit... I've had those before."

Fang nodded at them both. "My paycheck came in today, so don't worry about the price." She leaned back to stare at the dark, city sky, which had already been tinged by the many colors of lights and buildings above. "It'll be my treat, alright?"

Vanille set down her menu. "We haven't been here in a while, you know." She smiled and poked at her sister's shoulder. "Only for holidays, and stuff..."

Fang shrugged. "I suppose it is a little special." She smiled when a glass of water was set down before her. "Well, we've made a new friend, so why not celebrate?"

Lightning stilled as Fang spoke, and for a moment, she kept completely silent, beneath the idle chatter around them and low, whispering breeze, before she thought back to the last time she had spoke of someone as a friend. Besides her extended family, and all the people within the village itself, she could barely recall more than a lone, passing face, or a distant, silent smile.

"That's a good point!" Vanille smiled up at the waiter. "I'd like one of the cherry crepes, please."

Fang nodded. "Pepper tenderloin, rare as you can make it..." She glanced over at Lightning. "What about you?"

Lightning quickly snapped back from her current train of thought, but before she could even formulate a coherent sentence, a single phrase left her lips, almost without her bidding. "I'll... Have the same."

Fang began to grin. "Hey, birds of a feather?"

Vanille glanced between them with a slightly sly look. "I'm the odd one out! I thought we were going for dessert..."

Fang leaned back with a shrug. "Doesn't matter what we order, just so long as it's casual." She took a sip of her water, gazing around at nothing in particular. "Hey, they've got cows where you're from, right?"

Lightning fought the urge to bite her bottom lip. "...Describe a cow?"

Fang pinched at the bridge of her nose with a quiet laugh. "Oh, man... First time with steak?" She smiled, shaking her head. "Don't worry, I'll bet you're gonna love it."


	6. Tick

"So... How did you say these 'aura' things work?" Fang had her forearms resting against the edge of the table, and she began to fold her fingers together. "If we do have some sort of... 'Magic-thing' like that, I'd like to know exactly what it is."

Lightning glanced over at the flickering outline bordering Fang's body, but when she squinted to see the dark, almost dancing shape, she found quite it difficult to focus on very for long, and her vision began to blur after even just a moment of examination. "It's... A kind of energy that rests inside of people." She slowly held her hand up above the table, partially concealing the dove that had started to materialize within her sleeve. "Familiars can track it by sight, and when they aren't summoned, they try to stay as close as possible to their partner's aura."

Vanille's eyes went wide, and she gasped when the dove disappeared back into thin air. "Wow, you could have one _heck_ of a magic show..."

Fang chuckled. "That was 'Odin', you said?"

Lightning nodded. "He's been with me since before I can remember." She set her hand back down beneath the table. "There's been more than a couple of times where he's kept me from losing my life."

"Sounds like a real good friend." Fang glanced over at Lightning's shoulders, focusing on something that she couldn't quite see. "I'm trying to..." She sighed quietly. "_Trying_ to see if I can make it out."

Slowly, Lightning moved her hand to rest beneath the table. "Try this."

Fang glanced to the side, before she reached down and beneath the tablecloth to slowly touch at Lightning's fingertips. "What will it-?" Her breath caught as a shimmering, yet subtle outline bloomed out over Lightning's figure, slowly fluttering in place. "_That's_..."

Lightning looked down at herself. "It's really more of a physical thing, so it's easier to see with contact." She held her other hand out for Vanille. "You don't have to, if you don't-"

Vanille touched at the curve Lightning's palm, squinting, before her eyes went wide again. "Oh, _wow_..."

Fang stared along the soft, glimmering outline for a long moment, unconsciously moving her fingertips against Lightning's own. "Will this... Let me see mine?"

Lightning shrugged.

With a quiet intake of breath, Fang looked down at herself, only to find a faint, nearly-indiscernible pattern traveling along her chest and arms. "That's really... Something."

Vanille looked down as well, and she began to smile at the swirls of orange and white that swept around and over her body. "Fang, look at this!"

Fang glanced down, smiling a little. "It suits you."

Vanille giggled at the slow, dancing pattern, before she began to move her hand away, but when she broke contact with Lightning's palm, the outline started to fade. "Oh, it's not..?"

Lightning shook her head. "If you can see it in the first place, you'll just need practice." She slowly drew her hand away from Fang's fingertips, setting it back beside her lap. "Just keep focusing on them in your free time."

Fang nodded. "Will do." She leaned back slowly, gazing at where the shimmer had been on her arms before. "So what's your plan, here? You said something earlier about needing Nephilim."

Lightning kept silent for a moment to think over her words. "Several years ago, my sister was branded as a l'Cie." She glanced between Vanille and Fang. "A l'Cie, it _looks_ like a normal Seraph, but if... If you don't complete your focus, you turn into a Cie'th."

"What's a focus?" Vanille kept her voice low. "Or... A Cie'th?"

"A focus-" Lightning took a deep breath. "Is a sort of... Task, that you're given by the Fal'Cie who branded you..." She scratched at the back of her wrist. "Sort of a proto-godlike being; I don't really know much about them, because they're supposed to be quite rare... Before Serah was branded, I didn't really think they even existed."

Fang began to nod, mulling over the information she had been given. "So, what's a Cie'th?"

Lightning bit at the inside of her cheek. "It's... Not pretty." She moved to rest her hands against the table. "Imagine a twisted, shambling husk of a person... That's a Cie'th."

Vanille began to frown. "But Serah, _she_ didn't..?"

Lightning shook her head. "Her brand stopped, even though her focus wasn't-" She paused, struggling for the right words. "We never _really_ completed it, not in the way the Fal'Cie wanted."

"But she didn't become a Cie'th?" Vanille's voice wavered a bit. "In my dreams, she always looked so happy..."

"No, she made it out alright." Lightning moved to point at her own upper arm. "She has her brand right here, but it stopped progressing and turned white."

"Well, what does all of this have to do with Nephilim?" Fang looked down at her hands. "I mean, if Cocoon is gone..."

"...Bhunivelze." Lightning's voice went low. "He was the god overseeing Cocoon, overseeing us, and the Sanctum went to convene with him for advice about the situation, but..." She grit her teeth, glancing to the side. "They said he told them _nothing, _so we had no clue what Serah's focus was, except for what she talked about from her visions..." Lighting paused, looking back at her companions. "I'm getting a little off-topic here, but the point _is_, I need to make sure that something like that never happens to her again."

"And..." Fang leaned forward slightly. "How do you plan to go about something like that?" She met Lightning's gaze, searching within her expression. "This god of yours didn't try to stop the place from falling apart?"

Lightning shook her head. "No, he _just_... Disappeared, somewhere." She looked up when a plate was suddenly set down before her, and a thick, wonderful scent entered her senses. "Oh? This is nice."

Fang grinned at her. "Don't let it get cold, now." She paused to watch as Lightning slowly picked up her utensils to cut into the meat, and Fang nearly raised an eyebrow at the diligent efficiency that she used to slice it into equal bits. "Fan of knives, huh?"

Once she had finished, Lightning twirled the thin blade in place with one hand. "Comes with the territory... I'd show you my _gunblade_, but I have a feeling that these people wouldn't be very happy if I did."

Vanille looked around at the dining area with a quiet laugh.

"Suppose they wouldn't..." Fang began to smile as she cut into her own steak. "So, what were you saying before?"

Lightning moved to bite down on a piece of food, and as soon as she was able to stop her eyes from glazing over at near-_indescribable_ taste that rendered her almost speechless, she inhaled, vowing that she would obtain the recipe for her own use, no matter what the cost.

"Light?"

Lightning snapped back to the present. "Oh, if I'm going up against a god, I'll need backup if I want to make it out alive."

"Well, what sort of backup?" Vanille paused to eat a piece of her pastry. "How can we help?"

Lightning looked to the side. "I'm not even entirely sure... I was talking just yesterday with a group of fallen Seraphim, and one of them mentioned that I would need a Nephilim if I wanted any chance at all of surviving the encounter."

"Fallen Seraphim?" After a moment, Vanille scowled when Fang began to pour out a pile of salt upon her steak. "Fang, that's _gotta_ be unhealthy!"

Fang rolled her eyes. "Well, if _they_ don't season it right..." She started to even out the salt with the edge of her fork. "Don't get distracted, now; this was just getting interesting."

"Alright, a fallen Seraphim." Lightning slowly shook her head. "If you start to become a public nuisance in Cocoon-" She paused, cursing at the underlying bitterness that began to invade her senses. "Or anything else disruptive, for that matter... After a while, the punishments get harsher, and you'll eventually be cast out to Earth."

"Okay... But why do you need a Nephilim?" Fang took a large bite of her steak, despite the look that Vanille gave her. "What's confronting this god gonna get for your sister, anyway? You think he'll just take off the brand if you ask?"

Lightning slowly shook her head. "I'm going to try bargaining with him." She pushed her fork around on her plate for a moment, before she looked back up at Fang. "Bhunivelze, he can't even _touch_ humans, and if a Nephilim is half-human..."

"_That's_ why you'd need our help..." Vanille thought in silence for a moment. "But what if it turns ugly? What if we..?"

Lightning closed her eyes. "I've taken on opponents... Somewhat close to a god, but never something- Like that." She inhaled after a moment, breathing in both the various scents of food, and the steady, yet gentle wind that carried itself through the patio. "Even then, I have to try, for Serah's sake."

Fang nearly began to ask in which way had Serah's brand been frozen, but when she looked back at Lightning's low, almost wary eyes, the words stilled against her tongue, and she kept silent.

* * *

Something quivered at her back, and Serah paused, halting in place. "Mog, what are you..?" She looked over her shoulder as her bow started to suddenly dematerialize, reforming as a veritable lump of white, snuffly fur upon her living-room floor. "Hey, what's gotten into you?"

Mog flopped to the ground, laying flat on his belly. "Urmm..."

Serah knelt down beside him. "What is it?"

With a low, sniffing, snuffling sound, Mog lifted one of his paws to push the hair back from his face. "Tick, tick..."

Serah narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong? Let me see."

Mog merely whimpered for a moment, before he moved back up to a sitting position, revealing the intricate timepiece embedded within his chest. "Tick..? Won't tick."

Serah's eyes went wide. "It... Stopped?" She frowned, reaching over to trace along the thin, yet enchanted glass that kept the mechanism safe. "How do we fix something like this?"

Mog whimpered again, and he covered his face with his paws. "Dunno."

"Well..." Serah leaned back to stare at the gigantic, fuzzy creature. "I'll ask Lightning when she gets back. Maybe she'll know what might've happened to it."

Mog began to poke at the side of his chest. "Look."

Serah blinked at the numbers inlaid within the device. "What?"

Mog pointed by the top. "New."

Serah squinted, before her eyes began to widen. "How did this..?"

Mog shrugged with his front legs, poking one of his curved, index claws against the wide, yet silent device. "One, three... But no tick?" He suddenly yawned, before he let his paws drop to his sides. "Oh well."

Serah shook her head. "No... Not _'oh well_', this could be serious!" She frowned when Mog quickly disappeared into a swirling cloud of mist, before he reformed once again as her sleek, recurve bow, landing just beside where she was sitting. "Mog, _wait! _What if this is something bad?"

The bow lay silently on the floor for a moment, before Serah picked it up with a quiet sigh, setting it down against a hook on the wall.

"Alright, but just let me know if something _else_ happens..." Serah shook her head, before she walked out into the house, pondering over the situation in silence.

* * *

"Well, now that you've got pockets that zip..." Fang nudged at Lightning's shoulder as they walked side by side, over the wide, cobbled terrace path. "You should be able to carry some stuff along with you."

Lightning slowly nodded. "I'll have to get an enchantment on them for my wings, though." She reached down for the bag in her hand, retrieving her older, well-worn jacket. "I've had this one for... A long time."

Vanille looked over at her with a smile. "Hey, you should put on the scarf before you go!" She pointed at the rectangular plastic bag. "It'll look really cool when you're flying, don't you think?"

Slowly, Lightning reached down for the soft, red cloth. "Well, I'll have to tie it off, so it doesn't fall." She began to run her fingertips over the fabric. "Thank you for this... And for the clothes, too."

Fang cracked a grin. "Hey, we weren't about to let you run off without something nice." She turned to lean against a nearby banister, while the wind brushed some of her hair off to the side. "Just bring your sister back next time so we can do the same with her."

Lightning slowly smiled. "I think she'd like that."

Vanille clasped her hands together with a grin. "We could go out to dinner again, and everything! And if you guys can try and teach us-" She paused, wavering slightly. "Well, whatever we'd _need_ to know to help you..."

Fang looked over at her sister with a slight frown, but it quickly faded when she saw her expression.

Vanille began to hop in place. "Or, we could ask aunt Chocolina! I'd bet _she'll_ know how to-"

"Hey, _she_ has some explaining to do..." Fang held back a bit of a growl. "If she _is_ really in on this, why didn't she tell us beforehand?"

"She... Might've been afraid." Lightning spoke in a quiet tone, yet she was loud enough to be audible above the distant din of traffic. "Listen, nobody was really allowed to leave Cocoon for very long, back then... She might have thought it was safer to keep this a secret."

"But _we_ wouldn't have..." Fang paused. "It _is_ one big secret, isn't it? That's why you guys hide."

Lightning nearly looked away. "We were told... That people here might be afraid of us, or even envious, and eventually attack, so we weren't allowed to leave." She held up her right hand, envisioning the swirling, potent energy within her muscles. "When Cocoon fell, I didn't even _think_ to go down here. It was just... Never an option in the first place."

"Well you won't have to hide around us!" Vanille started to smile, reaching up to tap at Lightning's shoulders. "We won't tell _anyone_, so if you ever need a place to stay, down here..."

"Or if the weather gets rough..." Fang looked down at the worn clothing within Lightning's hand. "Or if you don't have the money for food, we can always spare some."

Lightning blinked, hardly finding a scrap her own of will to fight away the fluttery, warm sensation within her chest. "Thank you." After a moment of calm, easy silence, she cleared her throat, before she lifted her hand to gesture at the city. "I did find this one place, where if you don't mind it being cold, they'll give you food that other people didn't take, so that it doesn't go to waste." Lightning slowly let her arm fall, and reached up to tug off her new jacket. "But it isn't really a place where you sit down, not like this one."

Fang nodded. "Probably a take-out joint." She leaned back a little. "Come see us again sometime, alright? I'd like to know a little more about this Nephilim business."

"I will." Lightning began to slip her old jacket on over her shirt, still with several rips and holes. "It was nice to meet the two of you."

Vanille fidgeted in place for a moment, before she whispered something in Lightning's direction.

Lightning gave her a tiny smile. "It's alright, I'm used to them, from-" She tensed, nearly tackled beneath a hug, before slowly, she began to return it, patting along Vanille's back. "From my sister."

"I _meant_ what I said." Fang let out a chuckle. "Bring her down sometime, if even just to see the city..." She pointed off at the sky. "It's one of the most beautiful ones I've seen."

As Lightning looked back down, gazing at the distant ground below, she began to clutch the paper bag against her chest, scarf fluttering at her back, and she couldn't help but agree.

* * *

A thin, silvery bit of metal swirled in place, twirling about the metal clasp, but because the device itself was clenched between shaking fingertips, it merely continued to click, keeping a simple rhythm, in time with the heart beating rapidly above.

"I'm on my _way_, so don't worry..." Slowly, the voice softened to only a whisper. "Just hang on, alright? It'll be time enough soon."

The mechanism offered no reply, save the constant click, click, tick tick, _tick..._ Steadily counting away.

* * *

Beneath the steady wind, Lightning touched down beneath a pale, distant moon, and as she rose to her feet once again, allowing her wings to fall back to her shoulders, she briefly wondered how far off into orbit their home had since drifted, before she shook her head, nudging herself in through the nearby doorway.

"Serah?" Lightning kept her voice low, but she began to frown at the darkened house, summoning a tiny glow from within her fingertips to brighten the way. "You still up?"

"Light?" Serah's voice was somewhat muffled. "I'm in the living-room."

Lightning walked in silence, traveling throughout the hallway, until a dim, flickering light allowed her to shake away the one from her hand. "It's late, Serah." She moved into the low, circular room, before she nearly tensed when Serah leapt up to hug her.

"Light!" Serah tried to keep her voice low, but nearly a thousand questions had started to buzz about her mind, and she had to force herself not to speak them all at once.

"Hey..." Lightning let the bag fall from her hand, and it thumped down against the floor while she returned the hug tightly. "I'm sorry for taking so long, but... I made some new friends, Serah."

After a brief moment, Serah drifted back with wider eyes. "Really?" She stared into Lightning's expression, taking note of the small, yet genuine smile on her face. "What sort of friends? Oh, what's-?"

Lightning reached up to run a length of the scarf between her fingers. "Generous friends." She moved forward after a moment, sitting down upon the makeshift sofa, but not before she had lifted the paper bag from the floor. "They... It was almost an accident, really."

Serah sat down as well, gazing down at the various garments that Lightning took out from the bag. "They _gave_ you those?"

Lightning shook her head. "Bought, with their own money."

Serah leaned over to examine at one of the shirts. "Wow..." She held up the clothing in front of Lightning's jacket. "This really does go well with your complexion."

Lightning almost rolled her eyes. "It's for _wearing_, not-" She found herself shaking her head. "If you think so."

Serah giggled. "I do!" She placed the shirt down with a grin. "So, what are their names? Were they other Seraphim, like the one that you talked about-"

Lightning shook her head. "Nephilim... Half Seraph."

Serah stilled for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Light, you really..?"

"They _aren't_..." Lightning paused to shake her head again. "Serah, the Sanctum wasn't right about much of anything, at least in that way. and you know it."

"...Okay." Serah began to chew at her bottom lip, leaning back against the sofa. "I just worry, sometimes; I've never been down there, so I wouldn't know about humans, but-" She took a deep breath. "I just don't want anything to happen to _you_, you know?"

Lightning reached over to tap at Serah's forehead. "I'll be careful."

Serah beamed at her. "So what were their _names?! _You've gotta fill me in, here!"

Lightning chuckled under her breath. "Fang, and Vanille..." She folded up the shirt over her lap, smoothing out the wrinkles. "They wanted to meet you, actually."

Serah sat up in rapt attention, barely keeping her balance upon the couch. "Really? But if they've never met me before..."

"Vanille, she was the younger..." Lightning looked off into the distance. "She had drawn pictures of what Cocoon used to look like, from the dreams that she'd had."

"A seer?" Serah leaned back against the sofa again. "I didn't think there were even..." After a brief moment, Serah sat back up. "That _reminds_ me, actually."

"Oh?" Lightning watched as Serah stood up to walk across the room, before she returned with her bow in her arms. "What's Mog got to do with-?"

"His chest! The watch stopped..." Serah glanced along the various metal charms that were inlaid along the upper limb of the bow. "He _seems_ fine, but there's an extra number on it!"

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Call him out?"

Serah nodded. "Mog, Light needs to see this..."

After a brief moment, the bow began to fade, before Mog appeared once more upon the floor. "Light... Light."

Lightning nodded at him. "Come here, let me look."

Mog shuffled over to her side. "No tick."

Lightning reached out, tracing along the swirling metal edge. "When did this start?"

With a muffled, snuffling sound, Mog shook his head back and forth. "Dunno."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the device, examining the unusual number at the very top of the clock's face. "Thirteen... And it's stopped."

Mog looked down at himself, and while his shaggy fur covered most of his eyes, he was able to see the area around him with ease. "Don't... Don't worry."

Serah frowned. "This isn't right, Mog." She gently tapped at the glass. "We need to make sure this isn't bad for you."

Lightning looked up at the fuzzy creature. "Mog, you know that if anything happens to you..."

Mog suddenly startled, before he reached over to pull Serah into a hug. "No, no... _Safe_."

Slowly, Lightning held up her hand to pat at the fuzz beside his ears. "I know that you wouldn't mean to hurt her, but if something happens to _you_, it happens to Serah, too."

Mog began to whine, before Serah patted his neck. "Okay..."

Lightning nodded at him. "Hey, I know the people to ask about this sort of thing." She ruffled the white, shaggy fur along Mog's nearest shoulder. "Sazh must have experience with familiars, and I'd bet that Chocolina knows a bit about them too."

"It's okay, Mog." Serah tightly hugged him back. "Hey, maybe tomorrow, we can both go down to Earth with Lightning... Would you like that?"

Mog slowly tipped his head to the side.

"It's a big planet, right beneath us..." Serah smiled at him. "I'd bet that there would be lots of space to run around, if you were to blend in like us."

With a faint shimmer of magic, Mog disappeared into thin air, before he materialized again, but as a small, fluffy creature with a constantly wagging tail.

"That's probably good..." Serah grinned, scratching behind his ears. "But from what I've heard, animals down there don't talk very much."

Lightning bit back a smirk. "Not at all... You wouldn't believe how-" She exhaled. "How _embarrassing_ it was; they had to explain stuff to me like a child."

Serah shook her head. "Well I'd bet that they don't know much about moogles, either." She smiled down at Mog. "If you're new at something, don't worry about it."

Lightning watched as Mog ran about in circles across the living-room floor, before she let a small smile twitch over her mouth. The two of you should get some rest... If we're going for a field-trip tomorrow, you'd better be awake for it."

Serah smiled as well. "Well, you heard the lady!"

With a low chirp, Mog disappeared once more, before the bow thumped down in the place he had been.

Serah giggled. "Thanks." She picked up the bow, walking up to the wall beside them. "Light, you're still going off to practice with Hope in the morning, right? We could ask him to come along, too."

Lightning began to nod. "I'm not sure if he'd want to go, but experiencing a flight like that _would_ be good for his overall stamina..." She rose to her feet, before she turned around to pick up the bag of clothes. "Meet us out on the field once you wake up, okay? We should leave early to ask around about Mog."

Serah smiled at her. "I will." With a nod, she walked out into the hallway. "Don't stay up too long."

Lightning moved to follow after her. "I'm pretty tired from today; I won't even stay up to read." She walked over to her doorway, before she moved inside with a half-concealed smile. "Goodnight, Serah."

Serah watched as Lightning let the door fall shut behind her, and while she didn't immediately smile in her wake, Serah silently began to thank every deity that she could think of that her sister had managed to obtain not one, but _two_ new friends, before she turned, entering her own room with a wide grin on her face.

* * *

Tiny bits of sunlight peeked out from beneath the thin, speckled cloud-cover, and with a quiet yawn, Hope pushed himself to keep walking over the cobblestone path, even as his eyelids fought of their own will to close, goading his feet to drag along with them.

"Ten minutes."

Hope nearly jumped at the voice, but before he could whirl around, just to see who it was, a gentle thump sounded at his side.

"Ten minutes _late_..." Lightning stood with her wings aloft, sword in hand. "If this were an ambush, you'd have had a blade in your stomach before you'd even gotten to breakfast."

Hope fought the urge to frown. "Sorry... I'll try to keep better track of time."

After a moment, Lightning's expression softened. "I was only _three_ minutes late, so there's that."

Hope slowly smiled. "So, just more sparring today?" He glanced at her wings. "Or are we...?"

"We're taking a trip after your lesson..." Lightning turned over the wooden sword in her hand. "So I thought it was only fitting to make the jump to mid-air combat."

As fast it had appeared, Hope's smile began to fade, but soon, he began to nod, before his own set of smaller, silvery wings drifted out from beside his shoulders. "We're going down to Earth?"

Lightning nodded, stepping off to the side. "If you want to join us, that is."

Hope gripped at the handle of his sword, tracking her every movement. "Okay, midair combat?"

Lightning smirked.

Bracing himself, Hope held fast when a whirling torrent of air spiraled out, swirling from where Lightning had just been standing, and he while nearly missed the opportunity to block an attack from the side, he quickly brought up his sword to parry it, but Lightning was already in motion, upside-down and clashing back against his blade with a swift riposte.

"I meant it yesterday, you _are_ getting quicker." Lightning hovered in place for only a split second, before she swept her wings forward, sending Hope tumbling back a short ways. "But you're _still_ just on your feet..." Her own shoes landed quietly against the concrete. "Get some equal ground, now."

Hope started to nod, but he quickly realized that his wings had grown quite stiff with adrenaline, and as he struggled for a moment, forcing them to move, he found that could barely manage to get himself off of the ground.

"You _need_ to keep a cool head in combat..." Lightning lowered her sword to signal a brief ceasefire. "Let the tension in your muscles work to your _advantage_; it can really strengthen you when you need it most."

Hope nodded, but after a moment, Lightning had walked up to his side.

"Like this." She pointed, tapping at the base of his wings. "Think of them... As if they work the exact same way that your legs do when you're running at me to strike; you don't let your knees tense up, do you?"

Hope shook his head, slowly willing himself to breathe, before he attempted it once again, soon leaping forward to lift himself off from the ground.

Lightning tipped her head back, and she watched him slowly circle the area. "Good, now try to land a hit on me." She lifted her sword again, offering a solid, steady block.

Hope blinked as the wind pushed against his face, before he angled his wings down to circle sharply off to the side, but for a moment, he seemed content to merely soar above her, searching for a better opening.

"Oh, take your time..." Lightning almost smirked. "Your friends are all down here fighting while you take a moment to sight-see."

Hope bit back a grimace. "Alright, alright..." He readied his blade and sharply dropped forward, tucking in his wings to free-fall through the distance, before he shouted, striking forth with a fierce, downward slash.

"Right..." Lightning quickly stepped to the side, swiveling her blade around and up to brace again Hope's own strike in a quick, decisive tangle, until she had disarmed him, down to the ground, long enough to raise the point of her sword to rest directly upon his neck. "It's good that this is just practice... You've got more than a bit of strength behind your blows, but I really think that you should be focusing more on using your size to your advantage."

Hope let out a short, shaky breath when she lowered the blade. "In what way?"

Lightning pointed at his wings. "Did you notice how quickly you turned, back there?" She extended one of her own, wide wings. "Smaller size makes for sharper maneuvers, and you might have the _potential_ to outpace me up there."

Hope nodded, kneeling forward to pick up his sword. "Will you show me how you'd approach someone like that?" He stood up to imitate the stance she had taken previously, holding out his sword to block a skyward attack. "I couldn't find a good opening in that short a time frame."

Lightning walked away for a moment in order to get a running start. "Watch closely." She soon leapt out into the air, and Hope took note of the way she was more accustomed to a sort of larger, sweeping turn, instead of the hairpin dive that he had previously been able to take.

Bracing himself, Hope closely began to watch her each and every move, until a slight tilt of her wings signaled a sharp turn, and she came hurtling down, slamming her sword against his braced, steady stance, but as he prepared to shake her off with a parry, Lightning's blade moved down to jab at the air beside his belly, missing his stomach by only a mere hairsbreadth.

"And _that_ would be the sound of your guts hitting the concrete." Lightning lifted her sword back with a nod. "A feint, Hope... If your enemy won't come to you, _you_ have to draw them out."

Hope shivered a bit. "I'm glad you know how to accurately miss..."

Lightning nearly laughed. "Kind of an oxymoron, but I agree."

With a nod, Hope readied himself again. "Okay, what now?"

Lightning readied herself as well. "Same as before, but try to riposte." She jumped off into the air, spreading her wings out as she took flight. "You're doing well, Hope."

Hope could only smile as he braced himself for another attack, standing firm against her rapid, oncoming dive.

* * *

"Hey!" Serah leapt up, waving above the milling crowd, before she ducked down to maneuver within it. "Snow, wait up!"

Turning to face her, Snow started to smile. "Hey, Serah..!" He chuckled as she jumped up to hug him, slowly twirling them both in place. "What's gotten into you? I _know_ you're sometimes a morning person, but..."

Serah laughed. "I'm going with Light today!" She leaned back in his arms, staring at the sky above the canyon. "You know what this _means_, right? She's trusting _you_ with the first line of defense back here..."

Snow's eyes went wide. "That would be..." He nodded with a solemn whisper. "I'll keep my eyes open, so don't you worry."

Serah shook her head. "I won't." She smiled, before she let her wings drift out, falling to rest by her shoulders. "I wish we could _all_ go, but..."

Snow nodded. "I know... But maybe we'll have some of these recruits in shape before too long." He looked out over the town, turning to face the entrance of the canyon itself. "I mean, Light's been training a lot with Hope, right?"

"They should be out there, right now..." Serah followed his gaze, turning in his arms, before she began to slowly step away. "Every morning, you know, they go out there and spar."

Snow smiled. "It'll be good for the kid to learn stuff like that." He moved his hands up, clasping them together. "Once she's taught him for a while, I'll see if _I_ can take over the hand-to-hand side of things..."

Serah looked down at the bow beside her back. "I might try take you up on it, too; I won't be much use to anyone if I get disarmed, or worse."

Snow nodded. "Anytime, just let me know!" He tapped at her shoulder, before his hand moved to brush just beneath her chin. "You have fun today, you hear?"

Serah beamed at him. "I will."

* * *

With a running leap and a quick jump, Hope rose up to strike at the side of Lightning's waist, but she quickly spun in midair to ward off further attacks, batting him away with her wings, which sent him toppling a good distance back.

"Hey, you two!" Serah called out, running with her bow slung across her back. "Man, Lightning! He actually hit you, there..."

With a solemn nod, Lightning dropped back to the ground, holding her sword off to the side. "We've made a lot of progress."

Hope soon landed as well, almost out of breath. "Hey, Serah..." He took a moment to regain himself, before he turned around to face them both. "Your sister, she doesn't let up."

Serah grinned. "She's the best sort of teacher... Just wait 'til _I_ start running classes, myself." She reached over to pat the top of Hope's head. "You won't know what hit you."

Hope rolled his eyes. "That's _very_ reassuring."

Lightning set her sword down within a nearby alcove, gesturing for Hope to hand his over as well. "You two ready to leave?"

Serah nodded, nearly jumping in place. "Yup! If we could try to find those people that you talked about earlier, to see about Mog..."

Lightning pushed over a patch of tall grass to conceal the practice weapons. "We'll see them first, don't worry."

Hope glanced over at Serah's bow. "What's up with Mog?"

Serah had already started to follow after Lightning, and with a silent jump, she swiveled in midair at the same moment her wings had snapped out at both sides. "I'll tell you on the way!"

Hope watched in silence as they both disappeared beneath the edge, before he took a deep breath, and leapt off as well.


	7. Tock

With her wings tucked in, arms at her sides, Serah dropped down throughout the thick, rushing wisp of the clouds, and she gasped, holding her breath until the moisture had parted to reveal the white, speckled sea just below.

"Serah!" Lightning quickly banked to the side, pale wings outstretched. "We're nearly in _sight_ of it, so stay close!"

Serah let her wings snap out halfway, bracing against her rapid descent. "Okay! But where's Hope?"

Lightning pointed at the clouds below, and when Serah squinted to see, she almost laughed at the gray blur that wove in and out from each wispy patch of clouds, nearly toppling back over on himself at times.

Lightning smirked to herself. "Let's go..." She tipped herself forward, diving down beneath the vast, endless span of churning white. "Hope, stay near us!"

Hope glanced back at her with a nod, folding his wings together to mimic her descent. "Are we getting close?"

Lightning nodded, before she started to blink away the vapor that had gathered on her face, squinting to see through the heavy clouds. "Keep your eyes open!"

Serah ducked down, falling in alongside their formation, before she stilled, dropping just as fast, but her pupils dilated, eyes widening at the sight of the massive, sprawling city below, shaking away the clouds from her wings. "Light, look at _that!_"

Lightning held back a laugh. "I know, Serah..."

"But really, just _look__ at it_..." Serah's breath hitched as they entered the open air, and while the wind still whistled away her ears, the world almost seemed to fall silent as she stretched out both her arms and wings, taking full sight of the world below. "It's..."

Hope spoke up after a moment. "Amazing." He kept his wings tucked in as they fell, although he occasionally had to stretch them out to keep himself balanced. "Hey, where are we landing?"

Lightning dipped to the side. "Stay close. I know where we can land down there without being seen, so just follow me."

Serah began to flap, just to keep up with her sister, spinning off as she turned to the side. "Wait, we're not low enough for anyone to notice us, right?"

Lightning nodded, before she tightened in her wings again, diving down for the ground, far, far below. "Steady, now..." A sudden, blustering wind swept out into their path, but when Lightning looked up to check on her charges, she quickly let out a sigh of relief when they kept on her tail, copying her every adjustment. "Nearly there... Just land between the trees!"

Serah peered down at the oncoming stretch of green, before she nodded, angling herself so that her wings snapped out once more, readying both her arms and legs for a sharp, landing slide.

"_Now_, Hope!" Lightning fanned out her wide, incredible wingspan, and she caught the air in her feathers with a grunt. "C'mon, _Hope_, we're landing!"

With a silent shiver, Hope let his wings fall open, but not before he almost slammed himself into a passing tree-branch, scuffing the side of his arm against it. "I'm... I'm alright!"

Lightning hissed at the faint, yet distinct scent of blood. "_Dammit, _Hope..!" She let herself glide down, in between the tangled maze of leaves and branches, before she flapped her wings out a bit wider, easing her fall to merely a running drop. "Hope, where'd you land?!" Lightning hit the ground with a low grunt, before she lifted herself in preparation to race off, only to find Hope leaning against a nearby tree. "What the _hell_ were you-?!"

Hope quickly dragged himself to his feet. "Sorry, _sorry_..! Just froze up a sec." He clutched at the scrape on his arm, shaking his head. "It's just a scratch, don't worry."

Lightning grit her teeth, before she stalked up to his side, seizing the injured limb with a quiet hiss. "You..." She reached down for her pocket, unzipping it to reveal a roll of medical cloth. "_Stupid._" She unraveled the fabric in her free hand, muttering almost silently.

"Wait, _Light_, it's just..." Hope went quiet when she took out a tiny bottle of antiseptic, and he grimaced when she dabbed a bit of it onto the cloth. "It's alright, you don't have to-"

"_Quiet_." Lightning pressed down on the wound with the swatch of cloth, rubbing the alcohol into the scrape. "I'm not about to let this damn thing get infected..."

"Hope!" Serah called out from a short distance away. "Light, is he okay?!"

"We're over here, Serah!" After a moment, Lightning glanced over her shoulder to see her sister running out from the trees. "Just a scrape, he'll be fine."

Serah darted over, stopping beside them. "Oh..." She began to gently pat the top of Hope's shoulder. "Good thing Light brought along the first-aid stuff, huh?"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Knowing the two of you, I figured it was a pretty safe bet."

Serah scoffed, swatting at Lightning's arm with the side of her wing. "Hey, I'm nothing if not careful!"

With a slight shrug, Lightning began to tie the cloth off into a knot. "I'll take a better look at it later on, but _don't_ mess with it in the meantime."

Hope slowly nodded. "Thank you."

Lightning stared at him for a moment, before she quickly flicked at his forehead with her index finger. "Don't mention it."

"So... Where _are_ we, exactly?" Serah peered around at the forest, but she found that there was very little she could see but trees, except for the occasional, towering building that lay off in the distance. "Which city is this, did you say?"

"Vallis." Lightning moved to lead their way down into a small clearing. "We're in a park, but the city surrounds it on all sides."

Serah jumped off to follow her, before she began to fold down her wings into the energy at her back. "Okay... So where are the people you were talking about?" She soon ducked down, following her beneath a fallen tree-trunk, before she gestured for Hope to follow. "That one you mentioned, Chocolina..? You said she has all the birds, right?"

Lightning nodded. "I'm going to try and get a hold of Sazh, first." She held her arm up for a moment, materializing a small, swiveling particle of light within her palm. "He's got connections all over this city, so he's our best bet for finding out what's happening with Mog."

Hope's eyes went wide as the little sliver of magic brightened, before Lightning swung her arm back, hurling it out into the air, which made the shard rocket off with a sharp, yet tiny whistle of sound.

Lightning watched, following the trail of light until it had disappeared beneath the brightened sky. "He'll be sure to sense that, from wherever he is..." Lightning walked up to push her way past a dense bit of foliage, but they soon began to step out into a wide, untamed field. "Well, here we are."

A smile crossed Serah's face. "Wow..."

Gazing up at the sprawling city skyline, the trio fell silent for a brief moment, simply content to stand with the wind in their faces, staring out along the massive structures above.

* * *

"So if we can just make it in time before the crowds get there..." Fang tightened her grip on the handles, steering the motorcycle off along a tight curve. "Vanille..? You even listening?"

Vanille called out from behind her helmet. "Yup! Hey, do you think that we might run into Light again?"

Fang shrugged, further rustling the hair that whipped along by her neck and back. "I'm not sure, but you never know." She revved the motorcycle, leaning out to the side as they came along another bend in the road. "I'd count it lucky if we even-"

Vanille tapped at her shoulders. "Wait, did you hear that?" She nearly had to shout over the rumbling engine, before she held out her arm, pointing into the distance. "There's something..." Vanille almost gasped. "Fang, can't you _feel_ that?"

Fang kept her gaze on the road. "Trying to focus, Van!"

After a moment, Vanille tugged at Fang's jacket. "Pull over for a sec?"

"We're gonna miss the movie..." At her sister's silence, Fang sighed, slowly easing out into the rough, dusty patch of dirt beside the road. "Fine... What's this about, then?"

Vanille had quickly jumped down from the motorcycle, before she moved her hands to pull the helmet away from her face. "Just... _Listen?_ There's something over there."

Fang squinted from atop her seat, before a low, almost warbling noise pitched itself out into her ears, barely audible above the engine beneath her. "Yeah, I hear it."

Vanille turned to face her. "I'd bet it's Light!" She started to smile, slowly, before she skipped back over to the motorcycle. "We could always skip the movie... Maybe she's doing something more interesting."

Fang rolled her eyes. "If that's even _Light_... It could be something _entirely_ different, for all we know."

Vanille snapped her helmet back on. "Well, you've got the wheel."

Fang let out a sigh. "_Handles_, Van."

Vanille nodded. "Handles."

With a roar, the motorcycle flew back to life, carrying them both along the winding, asphalt road.

* * *

As he released the translucent, whirling cover of magic that covered both himself and his wings, Sazh dropped down against the grass, only to ruffle his deep, nearly wine-colored plumage as he did so. "Hey there, Light... Was just looking for you, actually."

Lightning soon stepped up from a small ravine, gripping at the grass above to pull herself up to the field. "Hey, we're in need of some advice..." Kneeling down, she turned back to give Hope her hand. "This is Hope, and that's my sister, Serah."

Serah jumped up to grasp at a thick clump of grass, before Sazh moved forward to offer her his arm. "Oh, thank you!" She smiled at him when he helped her out from the ditch. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Sazh grinned. "Likewise." He turned to face Lightning as she rose to her feet. "Hey, we've got a bit of a situation going on here, actually..." Sazh glanced over at Serah's bow. "Uh, you _might_ want to keep something like that back at home, next time... Most civilians around here aren't carrying weaponry."

Serah merely smiled, before she reached up to tap at the edge of her bow, causing it to dissolve in midair. "This is Mog."

With a soft snuffle, Mog stood tall within the grassy field, chuffing away at the mixture of strange, earthy scents that swirled about the field, with his paws outstretched.

"Damn..." Sazh looked up at the massive creature. "That is one _big_ moogle."

Serah giggled. "Mog, you're going to get us in trouble!" She jumped up to tap at his shoulder. "C'mon, you can blend in better when you're tiny."

With a slow nod, Mog disappeared into another puff of mist, before a quiet chirp echoed out from the grass below, and a tiny, white creature jumped up to peer above the tall, rustling field.

Serah knelt down to pick him up."That's better!"

Sazh grinned at the little patch of fluff. "Hey, he could pass for a Pomeranian at that rate..." At his companion's blank expressions, Sazh waved his hand back and forth. "You know, a dog..? You kids don't get out much, huh?"

Lightning shook her head. "It's their first time on Earth."

Sazh chuckled. "Well, all he's gotta do now is learn how to bark." He gently poked at Mog's nose. "Bark a couple of times, and you'll do just fine."

Mog tipped his fuzzy head to the side. "Why?"

Sazh almost stepped back, eyebrows raised. "Uh, no _talking_, either... Dogs can't talk."

Mog sniffed at the air. "Okay."

"Good boy." Sazh turned to face Lightning. "Anyways, I've been off on the lookout today for a _thief_..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "What's been stolen?" She glanced over at the winding path beside the field. "If it's another Seraphim, we can probably track their aura."

Sazh shook his head. "They must've used something to cover their trail; we've been fanning out all _over_ the city, and not a trace." He reached up to scratch at the back of his neck. "It was some sort of watch that Amodar's been looking after; it's the kind that has... 'Unusual' capabilities."

Serah looked down at Mog's neck, which sported a silent, dangling timepiece at the collar around his neck. "Was it anything like this one?" She held him up in her hands. "Mog's had his forever, but it _did_ stop working yesterday..."

Sazh moved to examine the metal device beneath Mog's chin. "Well, I'll be damned... That's a watch of the hidden hour."

Lightning frowned, before she stepped over to look as well. "The hidden hour..?"

Sazh nodded. "Amodar's watch is a little similar, but his stays closed up until it can draw in enough power to operate." He reached to pat at Mog's head. "If I _had_ to guess, I'd say that that's why your little buddy's has stopped working."

Serah hugged Mog a little tighter to her chest. "Is it serious? Will he be-?"

Sazh could only shrug. "I'm not entirely sure, but Amodar _does_ know more on the subject than I do." As he turned to face the nearby path, a low, rumbling sound began to approach from a distance. "We _could_ go meet up with him to see what he can tell you."

Hope looked up with a frown. "Is it very far? I can't fly invisibly like you guys can..."

Lightning squinted at the approaching vehicle. "You might not _have_ to..." With a slow, tiny smile, she began to walk forward. "Some friends must've felt my signal..."

Serah turned to face the pair helmeted riders as they skidded to a halt beside the grass, but with a tiny chirp, Mog leapt out from Serah's arms, darting over to greet them.

"Hi!" Mog ran around in circles, before he stood on his hind paws, jumping up to sit on Vanille's lap. "Hi."

Vanille sat in complete silence for a moment, before her eyes went very, _very_ wide. "Is that dog _really_..?"

Fang knocked down the kickstand with her heel. "Man, just when you think you've seen everything..." She began to stand up, pulling the helmet down from her head, which sent nearly all of her wind-tousled hair cascading out over her back. "I mean, flying people, talking dogs..."

"Hi?" Mog stared up at Vanille. "Bark? Bark, bark."

Vanille giggled, waving at Lightning as she walked over to stand before them. "Hey! I think your friend is trying to blend in, too..."

Lightning's wings had already folded back into her aura, but she nodded, reaching over to pat at Mog's head. "This is Mog, Serah's familiar." She turned to the side. "...And this, is Serah."

"Hey, look at that!" Fang chuckled at the woman before her. "You look just like your big sister."

Serah slowly smiled at them. "Hello... How do I, um?-"

"Just like normal." Lightning nodded at Serah. "I get the feeling that we share most of the same formalities."

Serah let out a tiny breath, nodding back when the relief washed over her in waves. "That's good..." She waved at them. "I'm Serah."

Lightning looked back over her shoulder. "Hope, where'd you run off to?"

After a moment, Hope slowly stepped out with something on his wrist. "Um, look at this..."

Lightning moved over to examine the small, almost motionless creature that was resting upon the patterned markings upon his skin. "Hope, it might be-"

"Ah, just a butterfly." Fang walked over to squint at the tiny insect. "That's a painted lady... Probably thinks your little tattoo there is a flower."

Hope held completely still. "It won't bite?"

Fang shook her head with a quiet laugh. "It might tickle you a little; they've got these long, curly tongues to sip up nectar with." She reached out to place Hope's other hand beside hers, before she guided his other index finger over beside the butterfly. "Look, maybe she'll sit on your hand..."

With a gentle push, the butterfly began to crawl up over Hope's finger, before it stopped to rest along his knuckles.

"Don't touch her wings, now..." Fang smiled down at the colorful insect. "They're pretty fragile, and she can't live for too long if the bits break off."

Hope frowned a little. "They'll come off that easily..?"

Fang moved to point at the tiny, scale-like material that covered the butterfly's wings. "Yup, those scales come off with just a touch."

Vanille hopped down from the motorcycle to smile at the slowly flapping creature, until it had fluttered off to land on Hope's shoulder.

"So, what're _you_ guys doing out in this neck of the woods?" Sazh reached over to ruffle at Vanille's hair. "I'm guessing that if Lightning's already-"

Fang suddenly reeled off to jab at Sazh's side. "_Damn_ it, old man! Keeping the wool over our eyes like that..." She tried her best to glare at him, but slowly, a smile fought to take its place. "You and that _blasted_ aunt."

Sazh held up his hands with a wry, somewhat sheepish grin. "Hey, _hey!_ It wasn't my place to go spilling the beans for her..." He waved his hands back and forth with a quick shake of his head. "Nope, not my business. None of it's my business."

Vanille nearly scowled at him, before she leapt up to hug him anyway. "Oh, _Sazh_... You've gotta be a Seraphim too, then!"

Sazh's smile began to drop. "Well, not entirely."

Mog suddenly jumped up to perch on Sazh's shoulder, clawing at his jacket. "Bark!"

"Silly thing..." Sazh shrugged him off. "I said to try _barking_, not saying bark!"

Lightning cleared her throat. "Fang, if you have the time, we've got somewhat of a mystery on our hands..." She glanced over at the sleek, streamlined motorcycle. "We could use as much help with this as we can get."

Fang slowly began to grin. "Well, I _do_ love a good mystery..."

* * *

As the strong winds rustled down through the tall, wild grass, a lone figure strolled out alongside a tiny, humming machine. They traveled in near silence, but as they approached the edge of the field, the plains soon swept down, spreading out to border a wide, darkened forest.

After a quiet series of clicks and chirp, Bhakti started to wheel himself up the edge of a rock formation, before he began to swivel at the top of it. "Oh, this is _most_ peculiar... We appear to be within an area comprised of mostly wilderness, and yet I can detect _several_ signs of mechanical life inside the forest beyond that ridge."

Snow stood atop the boulder, and he soon held up his wrist to shield his eyes from the sun. "Suppose it might be the Sanctum... Probably just some stray PSICOM units, by the sound of it."

Bhakti began to hum. "PSICOM... Now what could turn _PSCIOM_ against its own people?" He swiveled to face Snow. "Earlier, Serah told me most of what she knew regarding the events leading up to 'the fall', but she was unaware of what had happened after a certain point." Bhakti paused, before he turned back around to face the forest. "All she could say was that violence _erupted_ once the shell began to show signs of collapsing, but after that... She only recalled waking up to see a stasis container around her, reading approximately _fifty_ years of induced sleep."

After a moment, Snow slowly began to nod. "I only met them after all of that was said and done... I was hiding out with some buddies here, but we were getting picked off, one by one... For _years_." He clenched his hand into a fist, before a tiny, gentle glow drifted out to envelop his fingers. "I caught a glimpse of Serah, Light, and the others one day... They were fighting off a squadron of PSICOM elites out in the woods." He let out a smile, one that showed his teeth. "Let's just say that I wasn't about to let them go without assistance."

As Snow was speaking, the glow at his hands intensified, before the pale, tiny gemstones within his gloves burst, scattering off into thin air.

"Oh... Twin familiars?" With a quick puff of air, Bhakti hovered down from the rock. "How unusual."

Snow began to smile when a warm, fuzzy head pressed up against the palm of his glove, before a second creature suddenly trotted out from the grass, only to peer down at the forest below.

Bhakti took a moment to examine the pair of animals that stood beside Snow. "Wolves, if my database is correct."

Snow glanced over at Bhakti, before he sat down so that one of the creatures could leap up at him, licking his stubble. "Hey! Stiria, c'mon..." He gently pushed the animal down. "_Wolves_, huh? Never knew they had a name."

Nix trotted over to sniff at Bhakti, before she glanced back over her shoulder. "Friend?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah, Bhakti's cool... Don't worry."

Slowly, Nix began to wag her tail. "Good."

Stiria sat down beside Snow, wagging her tail as well. "Search..?" She flicked her dark ears to the side. "Hunt?"

Snow nodded. "In a minute... We'll probably find plenty of PSICOM for you guys to chase off, so don't worry."

Nix let out a low, rumbling bark as her ears rose up over her head. "Chase!" Her gray fur twitched beside lean, powerful muscles. "Chase, _chase_..."

Snow laughed. "Yeah, alright, fine... Go on ahead, but keep a _sharp_ eye out for trouble." When he blinked, the wolves had already disappeared off into the grass, rustling quietly as they made their way down to the forest.

"They seem very..." Bhakti wheeled over to rest beside Snow. "Enthusiastic."

Snow nodded. "It comes from being pent up for too long." He rose to his feet, gazing down at the tall, whispering trees. "Sometimes... You just gotta let loose."

* * *

Hope bit back a strong, constant shiver as he clutched desperately against the rider before him. "Are you _sure_ this thing is safe?!"

Fang laughed from just up ahead, revving the motorcycle even faster. "Of course, kiddo! Don't you worry..." She looked up to see the subtle glimmer just above, and while she couldn't quite make out anything beyond a slim, translucent form, she could _feel_ each gust of air from the strong, quiet wing-beats that traveled alongside the vehicle.

"Hey, don't worry, Hope!" Vanille giggled away, despite the arms digging into her stomach. "And you don't have to hold so tight, you know; Fang's a real great driver!"

"Oh... Okay." Hope frowned from behind the helmet that Fang had given him. "I've never been on _anything_ like this before; are they common around here?"

Fang leaned to the side, tracking the sleek, opaque figure as it flew off into another street. "In the city, yeah! Lots of people prefer them to cars."

Hope nearly grimaced. "Oh, _great_..."

Vanille giggled at him. "How is this any different from flying?" She looked back at the bandage on his arm. "You okay, by the way?"

Hope nodded. "Just a scratch."

Fang eased off on the gas, slowly drawing them to a crawl, and then a full stop. "Looks like we're here..." She glanced up as Lightning suddenly appeared in midair, only to drop down beside them.

Sazh soon touched down as well, folding his wings aside to step forward. "Right there... Hey, Amodar!"

"Eh?" Amodar glanced up from where he had been leaning against a lamppost. "Damn, you brought a whole gang along with you, huh?"

Lightning walked over to the sidewalk with Serah at her side, who had Mog in her arms, while Fang, Vanille and Hope made their way over from beside the parked motorcycle.

"Sir." Lightning gesture at the fluffy creature by Serah's chest. "We have something to ask you about familiars."

Amodar chuckled. "Sir? Missy, I do _appreciate_ the sentiment, but let's have none of that." He stepped forward with a nod. "Who's this, then?"

Mog opened his mouth wide, almost as if he was smiling. "Bark! Bark."

"Oh? That's a _good_ little moogle!" Amodar let out a loud laugh. "Pretending to be a puppy, are you?"

Mog wagged his tail.

"It's this..." Serah stepped forward, holding up Mog's collar. "We heard from Sazh that you might know something about them."

Amodar squinted at the tiny, golden timepiece. "Oh, that's interesting..." He soon leaned back with a nod. "I've actually lost one of my own; we've been trying to track down the slippery bugger all day, now..."

Mog sniffed at the air. "Chase?"

Amodar nodded. "We're chasing a _bad_-guy, yeah."

Mog let out a soft, tiny growl. "Catch..."

"Would _you_ want to help out, little guy?" Amodar looked back up at Serah. "I'd be willing to patch up his getup, there... If it doesn't already fixed itself by me getting mine back in the first place." He began to glance around, looking between each member of the group. "Alright, class... Who can tell me what the thirteenth hour is?" At their silence, Amodar started to sigh. "Man, what are they _teaching_ you kids in school?"

Sazh chuckled. "Hey, it's probably been more than a couple years..."

Amodar let out a low laugh. "True, true..." He turned to face the street itself, gazing off into the midday traffic. "Alright, I can fill you guys in on the way."

Fang spoke up. "On the way to what?"

Amodar looked back at her, before he squinted, carefully examining her aura. "I know every fallen in this city, and even a few beyond... When did _you_ roll into town, sister?"

Vanille looked up at Fang with a tiny frown. "What does he..?"

Fang narrowed her eyes. "From what Lightning's told me, I might be a _Nephilim_, not a fallen..."

Amodar's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh? Damn." He began to smile at her. "Could've fooled me, then." With a shrug, he turned back to face the sidewalk. "Grab your bike, then, and let's get a move on."

Fang walked back to straddle the motorcycle, slowly pushing it forward as the engine snarled to life. "Okay, where are we heading?"

"Home-base." Amodar pointed at a nearby street. "We'll let our little buddy here get a good sniff, and then we can track down whoever _stole_ the damn thing..." He soon cleared his throat. "Okay, the thirteenth hour... Many, many years ago, far, far, away, _whatever_; there was _once_ a powerful seer who discovered a very hidden dimension, and she did it by foreseeing that someday, some sort of 'thirteenth hour' would exist within every single day beyond that point."

"..Are you serious?" Lightning narrowed her eyes at the back of Amodar's head. "Wait, how can this sort of thing just go unnoticed?"

Amodar looked back over his shoulder to smirk at her. "Unless you have a certain sort of watch, you can't even _notice_ it." As he turned away, a quiet laugh began to rumble within his chest. "The seer created several watches imbued with her own essence, and with those, she was able to _enter_ extra little bits of the day."

Hope mumbled under his breath. "I think I _did_ hear about this in school..."

Amodar clapped his hands together. "Good boy! Nice to see someone paying attention, even if the Sanctum would rather force-feed crap than life skills..." He cleared his throat again. "Okay, that's the general gist of it; if you get a watch like _that_, you can escape time itself for a while and get the edge on _anyone_."

Serah frowned. "Well... How do we stop someone like that?"

Amodar looked back at her with a smile. "You get the edge on _them_, first."

* * *

A set of fine, polished boots stepped down against the slick, mossy surface, treading just above a wide, gurgling stream. "They would have almost definitely settled beside a source of water." The man traced the point of his gun beside a long, fallen log. "Check _every_ crevice."

"Sir!" The wide line of soldiers offered him a quick, simple salute, before they each moved out in pairs to fan over the dark, tangled clearing, their weapons raised.

"...You _honestly_ think that they're still alive?" A lower voice spoke up from beside the armored leader, donned in a cloak. "At best, we're just going to find their remains... Perhaps a straggler or two, but the monsters would have picked off most of them just outside the walls."

The slim, armored figure narrowed his eyes at the stream. "You don't _know_ these people." He kept his finger just beside the trigger of his sharpened, silvery firearm. "Chances are, with a leader like that-" A twig snapped, and he whirled around, keeping his gunblade at the ready. "We are not alone."

The robed individual let out a chuckle. "You're chasing _ghosts_, Rosch-" He suddenly paused, twitching, _choking_ in place, but before he could even reach up to grasp at his own throat, a massive, snarling beast knocked him to the ground, sinking deep into the back of his neck.

Rosch quirked a single, silver eyebrow. "Ghosts, indeed." He stared down at the crouched, slavering creature, and aimed his gunblade directly between its dark, blue eyes. "How _wonderful_ to see you again..." With a short hiss, Rosch ducked to the side as another large, dark beast came barreling forth, landing just beside its paler fellow with a sharp, powerful roar.

"One, and then two..." Rosch glanced around, and from the corner of his gaze, caught sight of several splayed, fallen bodies, scattered out across the forest floor. Their jaws hung open in soundless cries, broken spines rendering them completely silent. "But where could your _master_ be?"

"Yaag Rosch..." A tall figure whistled, staring down from his perch within the trees. "You're in _our_ forest."

Rosch turned, gazing up at the large, dappled sight, but he kept his gunblade fixed upon the wolves below. "Interesting _fact_ about familiars..."

Stiria lowered her head, snarling at him, while Nix's tail rose up alongside a low, yet deafening bark.

"I wonder..." Rosch stared up into the branches. "Would killing _one_ take down the master? Or would you need to put down the second as well?"

Slowly, Snow moved out from within the branches with his beige, shadowed wings held out at his sides. "As a favor to one of my friends..." He smirked at the ground. "You have _ten_ seconds to run."

"Do I?" Rosch kept half of his gaze on the snarling wolves, allowing the rest to fall upon the man, perched just above. "Which 'friend' would you be speaking of?" He narrowed his eyes with a low, quiet hiss. "You steal our very _home_, keep our _one_ salvation hidden away, and you call this a _favor?_"

Snow shrugged. "Seven... Six... Five." He winked at the man below. "And it's not a favor to _you_."

With a muffled, yet frenzied string of curses, Yaag darted off into the undergrowth.

Snow watched him leave. "_Easy, __now_..." He whispered down at the wolves, before he slowly dropped down to the forest floor himself. "He's still got two seconds."

Nix suddenly let out a baying howl, before she tore off after the scent with Stiria at her side.

Folding his wings, Snow chuckled in their wake. "Have fun."

* * *

With his nose pressed up to the ground, Mog trotted about the small, cluttered office, tracking the unusual remnants the aura which lingered within the area.

"Got a good whiff, there?" Amodar grinned down at Mog. "We'll catch him yet..."

Mog looked around, twitching his nose and tail back and forth. "Yeah..." He suddenly tensed up with a tiny growl. "Yeah!"

Serah smiled at him. "Good! Lead the way, boy!"

Mog suddenly raced out from the back room, passing directly beneath the loitering group that milled about the bar.

"Up and at 'em, ladies and gents!" Amodar barreled out from his office with a shout. "Hunt's on!"

Lightning immediately leapt to her feet, falling in beside Serah. "We'll try a more stealthy approach once he's in sight, I take it?!"

Amodar called back at her from within the street. "You got it, kiddo!"

With Serah, Hope, and Sazh at her side, Lightning waved over at Fang and Vanille when she had burst out from the double doors. "We're off! Can you guys keep up?!"

Vanille waved back at them. "Sure, just lead the way!"

Catching the helmet that Fang had tossed him, Hope quickly buckled the strap beneath his neck, before he swung up to sit behind Vanille. "Ready!"

Fang grinned.

With his nose to the sidewalk, Mog tore off down the city streets, inhaling the strange, elusive aura with each and every breath he took. "Chase?!"

Serah nodded. "Go, Mog,_ go!_"

Mog glanced up with a positively joyous expression on his face. "Bark, _bark!_"

Sazh let out a laugh. "Just keep on him, boy!"

Street after street, corner after corner, Mog kept on tirelessly, until the winding aura trail had become so strong that he couldn't quite tell exactly where it was originating from, so he quickly lowered to a crouch, wagging his tail back and forth.

"Close..." Mog began to whisper as he crawled along. "_Shh_."

Serah nodded at him, speaking in a whisper of her own. "We'll take it from here." She glanced around at the winding alleyways, before she signaled at the group behind her. "Fan out... Let's try to corner him as best we can."

Lightning quickly donned her illusive cloak of magic, slipping out into one of the adjacent alleys.

With a nod, Sazh took the opposite path, which left Serah, Mog and Amodar to stand in the center.

"Okay..." Amodar peered around at the darkened path. "Let's get moving."

Serah crept along with Mog right by her side, but she soon moved to keep herself close to the rough, darkened walls, pressed up within the shadows. "Mog, you still got it?"

"Yeah..." Mog struggled to keep his voice down to a whisper when they turned the corner. "Oh, look, look!"

Serah's eyes went wide at the sight before her. "Oh, good boy..." A small, sliver pocket-watch was resting just within the center of the alley. "Is that..?"

Amodar strode forward with a grunt. "Damn... All _that_ just for-" Slowly, his voice went low, shifting and distorting, and Serah began to narrow her eyes, before she walked out beside him.

Serah waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, are you..?"

"Serah!" Lightning suddenly jumped out from seemingly _nowhere_ with her gunblade drawn, barely deflecting the sudden, whistling blade from striking down upon her sister, but when her own sword clashed off against the slim, golden weapon, it seemed as if time itself had crawled to a halt, and she soon lay frozen, standing within mid-deflect.

"Light?!" Serah slowly inched out from behind her, noticing that Sazh had also fallen still from his vantage point above, before she turned to look over at Amodar; the man stood petrified, utterly fixed in place, while his hand was still reaching down for the fallen, shimmering pocket-watch.

"Light..? What's happening?" Serah reached up to grab at the hovering blade, tearing it far away from her sister's motionless figure. "Light..?"

"She can't hear you."

Serah spun around in place, but she soon found that there was nothing to see but the gray, stagnant world that stood around her. "Who's... Who's talking? Where... _What_ happened to everyone?!"

"Funny thing, about time..." The voice was low, but somewhat youthful. "When you learn the way that little watch works, it all becomes _so_ easy..." A shadowy form flickered out from one corner of the alley, but when Serah hurried to face it, a second hovered just at her side. "But why are _you_ immune?"

Mog snarled beside Serah's feet. "_Chase_..."

After a long, silent moment, a short, yet somewhat lithe figure drifted out from the shadows. "Another fallen? No... You're a _Seraphim_."

Serah suddenly let out a shout, silently willing for Mog to take on his bow shape, but when she reached down for an arrow from the quiver that had materialized at her waist, she found that her own skull was starting to blister and pound, and she nearly fell down to the floor, dropping just to her knees.

"Not immune to _magic_, then..." The young man walked past her to snatch up the tiny, silver watch. "Or traps."

"What..?! Wait..." Serah could barely form the basics of speech as her very mind seemed to _burn_, but she soon grit her teeth, desperately clutching at the handle of her bow. "Who _are_ you..? What did you do to them?!"

"I guess you could call me Noel... Not like it matters." He strolled to the side, holding the watch in his hand. "And _I_ didn't do anything to them, the watch did..." Noel narrowed his eyes at the tiny device. "But this is just using up precious time I _should_ be saving for the thirteenth hour..." Noel reached over to retrieve his fallen sword from the ground. "Listen... If you don't want to suffer anything worse than this, _don't_ follow me."

Beneath the throbbing, constant pain, Serah nearly began to screech in utter frustration, but there was something about the sheer, utter _arrogance_ in his words that set her actions on full throttle, so with a ragged, almost teary, _desperate_ cry, she wound back her arm, quickly loosing a swift, _searing_ arrow directly in the path her target.

"_What..?!_"

The world almost seemed to shift, and after a brief, silent moment, Lightning's arm flew forward, and she nearly stumbled down against the phantom strike that she was suddenly unable to parry. "What..? _Serah!_"

Blearily, Serah looked up from where she had fallen to her knees, still gripping at the curve of her bow with a quiet, distant look. "Light..."After a moment, she scrambled back to her feet, before her gaze caught on the small, but steady trail of blood leading away from the area. "Light, he did _something_ with-!"

"Hey, I'm on him!" Sazh was calling out from above. "Get your butts in gear, people!"

Without another word, Lightning raced off into the alleyway, holding her gunblade at the ready, with Amodar by her side.

"Wait, guys..?" Serah glanced around at the alleyway, now somewhat motionless again, before she set down her bow with a sigh. "Mog?"

Mog reappeared with his taller, more monstrous form. "Chase?"

Serah slowly began to smirk. "Go get 'em."


	8. Watchdog

Circling around the outer block, Fang narrowed her eyes a nearby alleyway, speeding past the entrance itself, before she shook her head, leaning forward. "Any sight of them?!"

Vanille glanced around at the area. "Not yet..." She suddenly caught sight of a lean, running figure, who had torn off down the sidewalk, despite the slight limp in his stride. "Fang, look!"

Hope peered over as well. "That's... He's got an _aura!_ I'd bet that's-"

Sazh suddenly dropped down from a nearby rooftop, before he raced away as well. "Fang, cut him off!"

With a nod, Fang urged the motorcycle forward to skim just beside the sidewalk, grimacing at the flurry of pedestrians who ran off in shock from both her vehicular advance, as well as the young man who was forcing his way through the crowd at a blistering pace.

"Oi!" Fang narrowed her eyes, gazing along at the various parked cars which lay between her and the sidewalk. "I can't get too close, Sazh!"

Sazh nodded in mid-leap. "Get ahead of us, if you have to!"

Fang nodded back at him, and she sped off down the street, but when she glanced up to see what area they had driven into, as well as in which direction they were heading, a sudden wave of realization rushed into her thoughts. "This _might_ take us down to the outskirts..."

Hope spoke up, before he found that he had to shout just to be heard over rumbling motorcycle. "What's that going to mean?!"

Fang shook her head. "Abandoned buildings, empty streets... We might just have a fight on our hands!" She glanced back, listening to the sound of distant sirens. "Hold on, kids!"

Vanille tightened her grip with a nod. "Hey Hope, I have an idea!"

Hope looked back over his shoulder when a rush of air crossed their path, and he smiled up at the translucent form, flicking just above them. "What's the idea?!"

Vanille grinned. "Think you could help us with the steering?! Get out of your wings one at this turn; I don't see anyone up there to see it!"

Fang leaned forward. "Right wing, if you don't mind..."

Hope grit his teeth, before he slowly, carefully began to nod. "Alright." He inhaled, rising up sightly to grip along Vanille's shoulders. "If this _doesn't_ work..."

Vanille reached up to hold at his wrists. "I've got you!"

After a moment, Hope suddenly started to smile. "Okay... Here we _go!_"

Fang swept herself to the side, and as the motorcycle lurched out into the turn, Hope let his right wing flare out, catching the air current to keep them greatly aloft; the tips of his longest feathers almost touched the ground as they turned, but with a quick, shaky flap, he sent them back upright again.

Fang let out a long, musical laugh. "Pretty _damn_ good!"

Quickly, Hope tucked his wing away, but he could barely restrain his own voice, and finally, he let out a dizzying shout, reveling in the heady post-exhilaration and _sheer_, roaring adrenaline, but after a moment of keeping himself stark still, except for his trembling arms, he found himself laughing along with them. "_Man_, that was..."

"Amazing!" Vanille gripped at his wrists with a cheer. "Look up there!"

Hope glanced over at the short, yet sprawling buildings that lay around them, noticing both the lack of care and the polish that the previous neighborhood had shown. "At what, in particular?"

Vanille pointed at a nearby building, and with a giggle, she started to wave her arm back and forth. "Looks like Serah's gonna catch up with us!"

A white, fuzzy blur soon jumped down towards the street below, while a solitary rider leaned forward with the leap, clutching to the neck of the sleek, massive beast beneath her. "Hey! Are you guys following him?"

Fang shook her head, before she leaned to the side, and Hope repeated the gesture with his wing to sharpen their turn, which sent them back to drive alongside a sprinting, bestial Mog.

"If we circle around, we can catch him at the junction!" Fang pointed at the area ahead. "Your_ teddy-bear_ there can knock him down while we cut him off from the other street... Sazh should still be chasing him from the rear, and who _knows_ where the others are!"

Serah immediately urged Mog forward with a shout, and the massive beast opened his mouth to release a veritable roar, barreling down the street.

"Alright..." Fang narrowed her eyes when a lone figure ran out from where they had first turned, and her eyes went wide at the feathery streaks of blue that had appeared within a set of flared, black wings. "Flashy one, isn't he..?"

Serah hissed under her breath. "Too flashy." She gently tugged at Mog's fur, to which he rose up onto his hind legs, leaping out just as they came within striking distance.

"Oi, buddy!" Fang smirked up at the flying figure, who was still clutching the watch in his hand. "You've got something _fancy_ there, eh?"

Noel grit his teeth as the motorcycle dipped onto the adjacent road beneath him, while a set of snarling jaws rushed out from his side, not to mention the trio of unearthly beings that were approaching from the rear, so with a silent, yet sharp breath, he let himself fall, dropping backwards, while the silver, shimmering watch almost seemed to twirl, hovering in place, until the chain beside it caught sharply against his fingertip.

Blurred, squealing treads of rubber went quiet against the darkened asphalt; each tire still rotated, gradually slowing until the world itself fell completely, _utterly_ silent.

A pair of figures had been immediately transfixed as well, and while they still seemed to be running in place, their bodies remained motionless upon the sidewalk.

White, frozen wings hovered in midair, with a gleaming blade, held high above each strand of pink, static hair... And yet the woman below could not budge a single muscle.

Noel's back hit the ground with a grunt, and he quickly rolled just out of reach of a set of snarling jaws. "Damn it!" Shakily, he unsheathed his sword, wincing as he was forced to duck to the side. "Hey, _just_-" Noel choked on his own words when the wound in his side suddenly spasmed, burning away within his stomach, and he soon stumbled back, falling to his knees. "_Stop_, for the _love_ of-"

Serah tugged at the back of Mog's neck, before she dropped down to her own feet, bow at the ready. "Hey, _you_ attacked _us_ first!"

Noel reached up to clutch at his side with one hand, but he kept his sword held high. "_You_ were tracking me!"

Serah's mouth nearly fell open at his insinuation, before she huffed quietly, notching an arrow. "You stole something from our friend!"

Suddenly, Noel smirked. "_My_ friend _made_ this watch..." He kept the device close, just up against the handle of his sword, and it dangled back and forth beneath the golden blade. "She _needs_ my help, and I just need it for long enough to get her _out_ of there!"

Serah narrowed her eyes. "Out of... Where?"

Noel grimaced at the pain in his side. "The thirteenth hour."

Serah paused, before she slowly began to walk forward, examining his wound from the corner of her eye. "Why didn't you just _ask_, then? If you needed it to save a friend..."

Noel spat at the ground. "Yeah, just walk up and _ask_ the _biggest_ group of fallen on this side of Gran Pulse..." He groaned after a moment, clutching at the thick, blooded mass of fabric at his waist. "I know them _too_ well; they'd never trust something that powerful to a Seraph."

Serah frowned. "You're... You're gonna bleed out."

Noel nearly laughed. "Yeah, funny _thing_ about arrows..." He glanced up at her bow, which was fitted with a tiny, golden watch at the grip. "You've... You've got one, too?"

Serah kept her gaze on the wound. "My sister has medical equipment..."

Noel bit back a hiss. "Yeah, the one up there? Well, _she_ doesn't look too happy with me either..." He finally let out a low, gasping, yet somehow wry chuckle. "Well, are you gonna _shoot_ me again, or not?! This is just wasting up the time that I need for..." He wheezed, and his eyes went slightly out of focus. "Saving her."

Serah's fingers tightened along the limbs her bow. "If... If you give that back to Amodar, I'll see if Mog can help out your friend."

Noel's face twitched, before he narrowed his eyes, gazing into her expression. "For a _stranger?_ One that attacked you first?"

Serah took a tiny step forward. "Well, we _were_ tracking you..." She slowly set the arrow back into her quiver, before she began to hold up her hands. "I'm willing to trust you, _if_ you put down the sword, and give us back the watch."

Noel grimaced, and he merely sat there in silence for a moment, before he let out a ragged sigh, lowering his sword. "This spell, it'll only last about a minute longer... Your friends aren't going to be too happy if you just-" He choked back another wheeze. "...Let me walk out of here."

Serah nodded, and she slowly reached out, taking the watch from his hand. "Then stay behind me."

Noel's eyes went wide. "But, if-?"

Serah shook her head. "I'll be okay... Just don't look _aggressive_, alright?" She knelt down to look at his wound, frowning at the steady flow of blood that was trickling down from his side. "Put some pressure on it."

Noel snorted when Serah began to pull at his jacket sleeve. "Turn of events, huh?" He shrugged it off with a sigh.

Serah quickly folded up the coat with her hands, before she moved to press it down against the flow of blood. "I've seen weirder." She set the watch down against the pavement, to which Mog reappeared in his smaller form, poking at it with his nose.

"One hell of a moogle you have, there..." Noel tried to stifle the ragged cough in his chest, but he quickly began to wheeze again, reaching down to help Serah press against the wound. "And one _hell_ of a... Shot."

Serah would have grinned, if only her fingers hadn't been steadily getting coated in a thick, growing red. "Just hang on, okay?" She increased the pressure with her hands, pressing down. "It should start to clot soon, and we won't even have to worry about getting the arrow out."

Noel nodded, slowly teetering off to the side. "Ah." After a moment, he let his eyes fall shut. "Alright..."

"Hey!" Serah nearly gasped when the area around them seemed to shift, but when she reached out to grab at the collar of Noel's shirt, a sudden burst of movement erupted all around them in a blur of deafening sound and blinding, flashing color, before his black, shivering wings crumpled down against the pavement. "_Noel!_"

A sharp length of steel whistled down, careening through the air, before a dark pair of boots slammed back down to the ground below, while the sound of a motorcycle rumbled off to the side, steadily drifting away into the distance, which allowed two separate sets of footsteps to be heard, from just a short distance away.

"Serah..?" Lightning kept her gunblade pointed directly at the unconscious figure, but her gaze slid over to peer at the small, silver watch held between Mog's teeth, before she looked back down at the dark, highlighted wings splayed out against the pavement. "So he _is_ a Seraphim..."

Serah whirled around to face her sister, still applying heavy pressure with her hands. "Light, he's gonna bleed _out!_" She looked back down at the reddened cloth, pressing it closer with a quiet shiver. "We... We were... He stopped _time_ to explain it to me, but we can't say the same!"

Within mere seconds, Lightning was kneeling down beside them. "I didn't even _see_ when you hit him..." She almost reached her jacket pocket with a quiet sigh, before she shook her head at the steadily flowing blood below. "I'll have to cauterize it."

Serah stared down at the reddened, seeping jacket. "Okay, what can I do?"

Lightning quickly held up her right hand, focusing upon the gentle, swirling energy within her fingertips. "Move the jacket and shirt when I say so... You definitely hit an artery."

Serah almost frowned, but she began to nod instead, clenching her jaw with a deep, shaky breath. "On three?"

Lightning nodded back.

At that moment, Fang rolled up beside them, slowing down the motorcycle to a halt. "Hey... What's-?"

Serah shook her head. "Not now! Three..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes, watching closely as a tiny, glimmering flame began to envelop both her index finger and her thumb. "Two."

Serah fought back a shiver. "One..." She pulled back both the jacket and Noel's shirt when Lightning moved forward with her hand, pressing them deep into the red, trickling flow.

Clearing his throat, Sazh grimaced from where he had walked up to stand beside them, but Amodar merely raised a single eyebrow at the procedure.

"Alright." Lightning moved her fingers within the wound, before her eyebrows quirked, and she nodded. "_Definitely_ an artery... Let's just be glad that he seems out of it." She winced when something gurgled from within the wound, before she inhaled, dragging her hand back out to stare at the thick, charred blood upon her fingertips. "No screaming, good."

Serah reached over to press her index finger against the side of Noel's neck. "Still a pulse..."

Lightning looked up at the sound of distant, waling sirens. "...He has his wings out." She glanced back at Noel's unconscious form. "Even a thief..."

Serah nodded. "We need to get him somewhere safe."

Amodar spoke from beside them. "Well, as long as you keep a good eye on the bastard..." He began to twirl the silvery watch at its chain, gazing along the tiny engravings inlaid along the back. "But if he makes any sudden moves, I'm not promising that _I_ won't have a few choice words to go along with that _hole_ in his gut..."

Mog walked back from beside Amodar's feet, over towards Serah, wagging his tail. "Good?"

Serah reached over to gently pat at his head. "Yes, good, but we need to move... Can you carry him, please?"

After a quick shimmer of magic, Mog reappeared in his larger form. "Carry..." He knelt down to gently lift Noel up into his bearlike arms, before he rose back onto his hind legs. "Where?"

Serah gently tugged at Mog's wrist. "These buildings, they look..."

Fang spoke up from the motorcycle. "Abandoned, yeah." She narrowed her eyes at the distant flicker of blue and red lights, before she quietly chuckled. "The cops will probably think this was a scuffle between gangs, nothing more... But yeah, we'd better move." Fang glanced over her shoulder to make sure that both Vanille and Hope were sitting down behind her, before she eased the vehicle forward with a nod. "I'll try to find us somewhere empty."

Serah reached up to guide Mog forward, simultaneously placing a quick, short-distance illusory spell over them both, before she lifted her arms, drawing out the magical guise to cover both Lightning and Sazh, as well. "Wait, where's Amodar..?" Serah shook her head after a moment. "Just follow me, Mog."

As he walked after her, Mog glanced from side to side, gazing down at both Sazh and Lightning, who had since moved up to walk beside him. "Bark."

Sazh chuckled. "Nah, you look more like a _bear_, now." He patted at Mog's back. "Bears go 'roar'..."

Mog looked down at Noel. "Roar."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "We'll need to disinfect that, once we get there..." She walked in silence for a moment, before she paused when a car rolled up to the sidewalk. "Wait, where'd you-?"

Amodar waved up at her from the passenger's seat. "Hey! Get him in the back; we'll have better equipment over at the bar." He sat beside another individual, one that Lightning didn't recognize, but even then, she was able to sense a distinct aura, similar to Amodar's own.

"Really?" Lightning glanced over at Noel. "Even when he stole from you?"

Amodar shrugged. "Hey now, why can't _I_ be a do-gooder too?" He chuckled at Lightning's expression. "You've gotta lighten up, _'soldier'_..." Amodar smiled, twirling the watch between his fingers. "I really wouldn't give a crap about this _piece_ of junk if it wasn't so easily abused."

With a shaky laugh, Serah pointed at the car. "Mog, set him down in the back."

Mog walked over to the door, to which Sazh reached over to open, before Noel was gently placed down against the seats.

"Follow?" Mog quickly reappeared in his smaller form, jumping up to sit beside Noel's chest, stepping across his wings. "Safe."

Serah nodded at him. "Okay... We'll meet up with you soon." She leaned away when Sazh closed the door, before she waved down at Mog with a tiny smile.

From behind the glass, Mog tried to raise one of his front legs to wave back, but by the time he had managed to balance himself, the car had already rumbled away.

"We have company." Lightning shrugged at the swarm of police cars that had moved out to circle the area, but they mostly seemed to focus around the immediate area of bloodshed, completely unaware of the three, invisible figures that were peering over at them from just a short ways down the road.

"Hmm." Sazh leaned aside with a quiet chuckle. "Haven't had this much excitement in years."

Slowly, Lightning began turn away. "We should find Fang and the others before she starts to drive back here..."

As Serah moved to follow them, she glanced down at her hands, before her mouth twitched back into a frown. "He was... Noel, he stopped _time_ with that thing." She let her fingers curl against her palms, still sticky with blood. "At first, he must've cast some sort of pain spell on me, and I just got so... So _mad _that I went and... I _shot_ him for it."

Lightning paused in place, before she reached over to wrap her arm around Serah's shoulders. "Hey." She waited until Serah had met her gaze. "_He_ struck first, so don't get worked up over it."

Serah let her hands fall back to her sides, before she sighed, nodding to herself. "Okay. I'll try not to."

Sazh spoke up with a low whisper. "Not to interrupt, but..."

Lightning glanced over at the gathering throng of police and medical personnel, and she nodded. "Yeah, let's move." Lightning looked down to make sure that Serah's makeshift-spell was still covering them all, before she made a running leap, flapping out into the air.

Serah jumped off beside her, while Sazh turned back around to take one last look at the growing crowd, before he flew off as well.

* * *

After a quiet, lingering rustle, a dark shape crept out along the forest floor, nose to the ground as she tracked the thin, yet distinct scent.

"Hey, anything close?" Snow kept his voice as low as he could, walking just beside the pair of wolves. "If there are any sentry devices nearby, I'd like to take them out first."

Nix stared up at the towering trees, while her ears swiveled back and forth, ruffled beneath the wind. "I can smell smoke."

Snow frowned. "Wood-smoke?"

Nix shook her head, and her gray fur began to prickle up along her neck. "No." She lowered her head, keeping close watch of the forest around them. "Metal... Machines."

Snow soon lowered himself as well, crouching beneath the tangle of branches, before he paused, and knelt down to trace his fingertips beside a wide set of tire tracks. "That'd be our sentries..." He grit his teeth. "We can scare people off, but _these_ things..."

Stiria lifted her head, sniffing at the air. "Too many."

With a quiet sigh, Snow nodded. "I'd have to agree." He let his fingers slowly tighten into a fist. "You know, if we didn't have so much to lose..."

Nix wagged her tail at him. "_Family!_"

Snow bit back a chuckle. "I can't come back to Serah in _pieces_, now can I..? And Lightning might just try to rip me into even _smaller_ bits..." He rose up to his feet. "When they get back, I'll let them know... Then we might be able to do more about it."

Stiria walked up to to nudge at his hand. "Home?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah..." He moved over to a nearby tree, before he slowly leaned against it, peering down at the wooded valley below. "Let's sweep the border one last time, just to be safe."

The wolves took off without another word, while Snow stood there in silence for a moment, gazing down at the rustling woods. "I'll keep it safe, Light." He turned to face the side of the forest that would taper off into rocky plains, and eventually into more mountainous ridges. "I'll keep all of it safe."

* * *

Staring out at the sight before her, Fang briefly began to consider the possibility that she might have gone _completely_ mad, but when started to compare the previous events of that day alongside a quiet trip to the movies, she quickly found that the currents events were somehow much more favorable.

"So, you took the damn thing to save your _girlfriend?_" After a long, quiet moment, Amodar let out a wry laugh. "Son, you _could've_ just asked..."

Noel winced, and he bit back a rather loud shout when Lightning began to apply a cold, yet burning liquid into his wound. "Well, my... _Previous_ encounters with fallen Seraphim haven't been so-" He grit his teeth as the stinging sensation fired off with just a thin, flowing trickle of blood. "Not so _friendly_, let's say."

Lightning rolled her eyes at him. "Quit fussing." She moved to swipe a bit of gauze around the wound. "And you'd better have a _damn_ _good_ excuse for chucking a sword at my sister..."

Noel glanced over at Serah. "_She_ looked pretty determined to chuck something at _me_." He tried to gesture at the arrow wound, but Lightning immediately slapped his hand away.

"Well then, what can I say?" Noel leaned back against the counter, shaking his head. "A determined looking lady walks up to me with _clearly_ ill intent, and a guy gets kinda nervous!"

Serah merely grinned, petting behind Mog's ears.

"Alright, enough squabbling..." Amodar glanced between them both. "So how _did_ your friend get stuck out there in the first place? From what I know about the thirteenth hour-"

Noel shook his head. "She's a seer."

Amodar's mouth twitched, and he began to lower his voice. "Son, if that's the case..."

With a quiet hiss, Noel kept shaking his head. "No! If _I_ have a way to get in myself, I can help get _her_ out..." He grit his teeth, nearly shivering as Lightning prepared to stitch the wound.

"You're not going _anywhere_ with this." Lightning narrowed her eyes at the torn, reddened skin. "Run around or fly with _this_, and it'll tear right open again..." She quickly eased the needle down and back out through his skin, ignoring the resulting hiss of protest. "Hey, _quiet!_ I can't really get you an anesthetic, now can I?"

Noel forced his eyes to fall shut, gripping at the counter behind him. "If you bribed an actual _doctor_, maybe-" He closed his mouth, nearly trembling in pain. "Fine, fine, just _hurry_."

"Hm... She's right, though." Sazh had leaned over to examine the wound. "No way you're running around with that just yet."

Noel frowned through the pain. "But, she's-"

"I'll... I'll go in." Serah slowly rose to her feet. "If I'm not affected by whatever you did to stop time in the first place-"

"Serah." Lightning shook her head as she continued to stitch. "We don't know anything _about_ this..."

Serah took a step forward. "But, I could-"

"I won't let you walk into something that could just as easily _backfire_." Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Not unless you had backup..."

From his seat beside them, Amodar spun the silver contraption in his hand. "You'd need a certain type of watch."

Serah glanced down at the silent, golden watch at Mog's collar. "Light, if we went in _together_..."

Lightning took a moment to look at Mog, and then over to the watch at Amodar's fingertips. "Well, he'd owe us one hell of a favor..." She tied off the stitches with a grunt. "Think you can handle that, twitchy?"

Noel almost glared at her. "Hey, _you_ try getting shot with an-!" He nearly doubled-over when she roughly flicked at the skin beside his wound, having already closed it off against infection.

"Just give it a while and it'll heal up nicely." Lightning nodded at the stitches. "I've patched up over a hundred arrow wounds; this one is no different."

"Man..." Noel rubbed at his side. "You really don't give a guy a break, huh?"

Fang let out a chuckle, mumbling from where she had leaned back in her chair. "My kind of woman."

Lightning rose to her feet. "You'll have plenty of time for a _break_ while _we_ get your girlfriend back."

Noel flushed a bit. "She's not... _Exactly_-"

Lightning turned away from the bar, facing the low, assorted tables, before she slowly leaned back against the counter-top. "So when does this 'thirteenth hour' start? I'd assume just after the twelfth..."

With a nod, Amodar tossed her the watch. "You'll have some time to get ready... Take as much as you need in here; I owe you that much."

Lightning caught the device in her right hand, and she soon looked down to examine the engraving along the back.

Amodar stood up with a nod. "Well, if I'm going to be fixing that gizmo for our little friend, I've got some things to look at..."

Mog wagged his tail. "Thank you!"

Amodar chuckled at him. "No, thank _you_ for chasing down our culprit, here..." He walked over to ruffle Noel's hair. "Even if he _is_ more than a bit misguided."

Noel grimaced at the touch, before he let out a quiet sigh, staring up at Amodar. "Hey, if I had known another alternative beforehand..."

Amodar shook his head. "Just apologize, and I'll call it even."

Noel lowered his gaze, before he looked back up at Amodar. "I'm sorry."

After a moment of silence, Amodar cracked a wide, beaming grin. "No problem, son! You can _start_ with clearing off those tables."

As Amodar walked off into the back, Noel attempted to rise up from his seat and protest, but when the stitching cried out at his side, he sank back down with little more than a hiss. "Wait, I thought we were _even!_"

Over his shoulder, Amodar waved at him. "Those stitches aren't going to pay for themselves... And you'll just have to ask if Lightning's willing to let you off the hook for that disinfectant."

With a grimace, Noel glanced over at Lightning. "You won't..?"

Lightning shrugged. "Like I said, one _hell_ of a favor." She strode away without another word, and soon sat down beside Serah, before they shared a somewhat similar glance.

"So..." Vanille finally spoke, breaking the silence with a giggle. "What're we going to do in the meantime?"

"Pray that the cops don't catch on to us?" Fang ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head back and forth. "That was... A dumber move than I'd anticipated."

Serah turned to face her. "How can we help? I don't want to see you guys get in trouble for this..."

Fang shrugged. "Unless someone got my license plate number, we'll be fine..." She chuckled a bit. "At worst, I get a speeding ticket... Maybe one for disturbing the peace."

Noel spoke up with a low mumble. "Will I have to pay _that_ off, too?"

Fang winked at him. "You know it, bud."

"Wait, guys?" Hope glanced around at the group. "If he was just trying to help out his friend..."

"Then he _should've_ been more diplomatic." Sazh was leaning back against a nearby wall, scratching at the side of his chin. "But I agree, let's lay off with the lectures."

Noel tried to stand up again, but the steady, thrumming pain at his side kept him sitting upon the bar-stool. "Well, I'll try to make up for it... Maybe there's something I could teach you guys for your trouble." He looked over at Hope. "Hey, do you know how to cast any sort of pain spell? It could ward off anyone that tried to pick on you."

Hope shook his head. "I haven't tried a whole lot of magic... It always seems to be more trouble that it's worth."

Noel merely grinned. "A friend of mine taught me this one; you really just have to focus on the mental half." He waved for Hope to sit beside him. "The physical bits are almost non-existent, so it's an easy one."

Vanille stood up as well. "Could you maybe... Try to teach me, too?"

Noel squinted to examine her aura, before he slowly began to nod.

Lightning rose up after a moment, and she walked over to stand beside where Sazh had moved to, while the rest of their companions began to converse. "Hey."

Sazh smiled at her. "Hey, Light."

Lightning leaned back as well, before she turned slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her gaze. "I've been wondering, why you didn't tell me about them... Fang and Vanille."

Sazh let out a soft sigh. "They're like _family_, Light." He reached up to scratch at his neck. "You were all worked up and determined to go confront _Bhunivelze_ of all things, and..." Sazh took a deep breath. "If Fang and Vanille were going to try and help you out, I wanted it to be on their own terms."

After a long moment of thought, Lightning nodded. "Hey, did the Watcher know?"

Sazh chuckled. "I don't think there's much of anything the old bastard _doesn't_ know..." His eyes widened slightly when a small, sparkling bit of magic began to materialize within Vanille's hands. "I sometimes talk to him once in a while about the extended family, you know... Just to keep him updated."

"...You _are_ like family, aren't you?" Lightning thought back to the way Vanille had hopped up to give her a hug just the previous night, and even while Fang had gazed on from afar, she had done so with a look bordering on gentle. "They're... Very kind people."

Sazh nodded. "As they should be." He glanced over at Fang, who was staring down at the glow, lingering just within Vanille's grasp. "Fang's been a real good sister to her... And we've made sure that they have enough to get by with."

"It shows." Lightning almost smiled when the spell intensified, causing Vanille's fingers to twitch. "They bought me some clothes and food, without me even asking... I want to give them something back, if I can."

With a hum, Sazh tapped at the side of his chin. "Well, Fang's tough... Real tough." He shook his head, laughing quietly. "Maybe even tougher than _you_ if she ever gets a hold of that aura... Teach her some swordplay, and she'll _definitely_ thank you for it."

Lightning quirked an eyebrow at him. "Swordplay? I thought that on Earth-"

Sazh shook his head. "For their _heritage_, Light... They deserve to know where they come from." He glanced to the side, gently scuffing the toe of his shoe against the floor. "I mean, Chocolina did ask me to keep quiet until they were ready, but now that _those_ beans are fully spilled..."

After a moment, Lightning nodded. "I'll do my best." She stilled for a while, content to watch as Vanille wove the glimmering magic back and forth between her fingers, gazing at the way her eyes came alight with both wonder, focus, and fear. "She's a natural."

Sazh bit at his bottom lip. "If she ever learns a fire spell, there goes their apartment..."

Lightning almost laughed, before she pushed off from the wall, slowly walking back into the tabled area. "How's the lesson going?"

Fang called out from her seat at the bar. "Little sis is a natural! _Look_ at that damn glow..."

Vanille shoulders began to tremble slightly, but she kept the magic contained, hovering just between her hands. "It's definitely... Tingly"

Noel leaned over to examine the wavering spell. "_Hold_ it, now... Try to keep it there for as long as you can, without losing your grip."

Vanille nodded with her brow knit in concentration. "Hey, Hope? How's yours doing?"

Hope had his eyes shut, hands hovering slightly above his lap. "I'm not sure." He kept his legs folded upon the bar-stool, leaning back against the counter-top. "It feels like you said, though... Tingly."

Vanille nearly laughed, but as the swirling energy in her hands crackled once, it began to fade away with merely a whisper.

"Hey, good attempt!" Noel tapped at the counter with his own fingers. "Just keep working on that, alright? That sort of spell took me _days_ to learn when I was a kid."

"Okay." Vanille looked over at Hope. "Hey, you're glowing too!"

Slowly, Hope opened his eyes. "Hmm." He squinted to examine the soft, pale wisps of magic that drifted about his fingertips. "Light, can you take a look?"

Lightning walked up beside him. "Try to enhance it." She moved to pull over a nearby chair. "Focus on your aura, and try to draw it out and into your hands."

Hope nodded, closing his eyes again. "Alright..." He winced when a slow, gathering light began to trickle out along his palms. "Like this?"

"Like that." Lightning sat down, gazing at the magic for a moment, before she looked back up at his face. "Don't overdo it."

Hope tried to relax. "Sorry." He exhaled, breathing deep. "Is it still there?"

Slowly, Lightning frowned as the glimmer began to fade. "Not so much, but I think you just need to practice." She looked over at Vanille. "The two of you, though... Better than _most_ wannabe mages I've seen."

Hope opened his eyes with a quiet laugh. "I'll try to keep practicing." He looked down at his arm. "I can probably still keep up with the sparring lessons, though, so that'll take most of my energy."

"Sparring?" Fang looked Hope over with her eyebrows raised. "A little squirt like you can _spar?_"

Hope nodded. "I'm not _that_ little; Light's been teaching me..." He met Fang's gaze. "And I'm seven hundred and eighty-two! Of _course_ I can spar."

Both Fang and Vanille shared a long, immediate glance.

"What?" Hope slowly looked between them. "Are you guys..?"

Serah spoke up from her seat at a nearby table. "...Maybe they have different rates of aging?"

Fang pinched at the bridge of her nose. "You guys _really_ aren't kidding, are you?" She shook her head. "You look about as old as Vanille, honestly."

Hope shrugged. "Well, I do know that asking a girl's age, _that_ isn't..." He trailed off with a quiet laugh.

"Smart kid." Noel smiled at him. "Nope, most ladies don't quite care for that." He glanced down at his wound with a wince. "I don't need _any_ more bruises, thank you very much."

Vanille rolled her eyes at them both. "Who even cares, really? It's just a number..."

Noel shook his head. "If I know anything from _my_ time with women-"

Serah laughed. "Don't make me set Mog on you again..."

Lightning closed her eyes for the ensuing squabble, before she slowly opened them, only to gaze over at Sazh, who at that very moment seemed to share the exact same sentiment as her.

With a small shake of his head, Sazh walked over to take his seat beside the group, tuning out the playful and raucous sounds of debate with the ease of a wise, experienced father.


	9. Time Flies

"So what exactly are we going to be seeing in there?" Lightning flipped over the watch in her hands, watching each of the thin, silvery shards that hovered about the device. "Just... Try to start at the beginning, and tell us as much as you can."

Noel nodded. "Alright, the thirteenth hour..." After a moment of silent thought, he ran one of his hands through his hair. "But where to even_ start? _It's been _ages_, since-" Noel paused, before he suddenly snapped his fingers above his head. "Alright, imagine a dimension that runs parallel to our own... One that only seers can access naturally."

Serah sat up straight in her seat. "Hey, I've heard about that! They hear things from it in dreams, and get visions, too."

Noel smiled a bit. "Exactly... They're all linked up with the place on a natural, aural level; it's like a _big_ network of time, prophecy, all that stuff." He crossed his arms after a moment, leaning back against the counter. "Yeul... The friend I was talking about, she's a seer."

"Then how do we get her back out?" Lightning began to trace her fingers over the engraving upon the watch. "I'd prefer to know what we're getting into before we start."

"It's like I said, it happened ages ago..." Noel met Lightning's gaze with a frown. "I've been _searching_ for this damn thing ever since it all happened." He took a deep, quiet breath. "She... _Technically_, she died."

"_'Technically'_?" Lightning narrowed her eyes. "You can't bring back the dead."

"Technically..." Noel smirked. "You _can_ bring them back, if they're part of a multi-organism thought process comprised of several different active participants."

"Okay, slow down..." Lightning shook her head with a sigh. "She's part of a _what?_"

"Seers, they can reincarnate..." Noel frowned slightly. "No, reincarnate is the wrong word... Duplicate? Again, it's not ideal." He took a moment to think. "Like a... A mirror image of each other, but they're all connected by the energy that flows within the hour."

"And we just walk in there, and what?" Lightning silently tapped her fingertips together, furrowing her brow. "Find a living copy and ask her nicely if she'd like to follow us out?"

Noel grinned. "Well, that was the plan..." He glanced down at his side. "I mean, _I_ would've been doing all this on my own if _someone_ hadn't-"

Serah cleared her throat. "Hey, it's a half-hour 'til noon... Would that work, or do we have to wait until midnight?"

Noel waved at the watch in Lightning's hand. "As long as she's holding it, she'll get tugged in there automatically." He looked back at himself. "I managed to get in for a while last night, but I wasn't able to find Yeul before that hour was up."

"So you don't know for _sure?_" Serah leaned forward in her seat. "How do we even know I'll be able to go in, too?"

Noel glanced at Mog. "He's a familiar, right?"

Serah nodded.

"Well, naturally you'll be linked with all of his strengths..." Noel chuckled at the little creature. "If there was one thing I _did_ see in there, it was moogles."

Slowly, Lightning pushed the clasp of the silver pocket-watch open, before she started to look down at the steadily ticking pointer. "Well, we have about twenty minutes to wait, unless we need to sit here 'til midnight." She closed her eyes. "Is there anything else you can tell us about this place?"

Noel hummed for a moment, gazing down at his feet. "Well, even if it _looks_ creepy as hell... Just keep walking."

Serah frowned a bit. "That's... Real reassuring."

* * *

The wind swept up, brushing against a set of wide, concrete walls, while an iron-wrought fence sat in silence before the winding path below.

A lone, limping figure made his way up to the imposing barrier, grasping down upon the searing marks, scattered across his arm. "This is Yaag Rosch! Requiring _immediate_-"

The gate swung open with the sound of footsteps. "Commander Rosch!"

Rosch grit his teeth. "Yes, I require immediate medical-" He let out a sigh as an escort party moved out to circle him, quickly leading him forward. "Immediate access to medical supplies will do; it was merely a warning strike."

One of the soldiers stared down at his wound. "An animal bite?"

Rosch slowly began to nod. "No ordinary animal, I assure you..." He almost winced at the deep, throbbing pain within his wrist, before a steady trickle of blood crept down from his forehead. "Send word to each lieutenant in this sector... Have them prepare a fleet of scouting parties at once."

With a nod, half of the party marched off into the building complex, while the remaining few led him toward a small pavilion.

"Dismissed..." Rosch let out a quiet sigh as he looked down upon his wrist. "Was it worth the price, Villiers? You could ask your 'friends' the _very_ same question..." With a slight grimace, he reached up to rummage through a wall-mounted medical cabinet. "Why _cling_ to something, so-" Yaag shook his head. "So... Fleeting."

* * *

"Okay..." Serah hugged Mog a bit tighter to her chest, closing her eyes. "Wish us some luck, guys?"

Both Fang and Vanille spoke out immediately, while Hope, Noel and Sazh began to do the same, before a gentle touch pressed against her shoulder.

"Hey." Lightning sat down beside her. "I'll have your back in there, so don't stress it."

Serah nodded, but with a tiny frown. "It's just... When it happened before, it was _really_-" Her breath caught when the watch in Lightning's hand ticked forth, before it stopped for a brief, lingering moment, hovering just beside the thirteenth number.

"Serah?" Lightning tightened her grip on the slim, silvery device. "Is this..?"

Serah inhaled, listening to each and every trickle of sound as they crumbled, echoing away, before she turned to watch as her friends went still before her, fading off into a thick, solid gray, until they had fallen completely motionless.

"Yeah..." Serah's eyes suddenly went very wide, before she rose to her feet, holding Mog to her chest. "_Vanille?_"

Vanille was staring at Fang's still, silent form, tinged with the same shade of darkened silver that the rest of the room had taken, and yet, the younger sibling continued to stand, and _breathe,_ but before long, she turned to face both Lightning and Serah.

"Vanille?" Lightning took slow a step forward. "Why aren't you-?"

Serah spoke with a laugh. "Your dreams!" She began to move forward as well, walking up to stand beside them. "Vanille, your _dreams_..."

Vanille merely stared down at herself for a moment, before she shivered, glancing at the world around her. "We need... We need to move."

Lightning paused in place, gazing into Vanille's eyes. "Why?"

Vanille shook her head. "I... I don't know, but we _need_ to move." She reached up to brush her fingertips against her own forehead, down to her cheeks. "We don't have a whole lot of time."

Lightning stared out into Vanille's expression for a brief moment longer, before she herself began to nod. "Then we'll move..." She reached down to take one of both Serah and Vanille's hands in her own, and she slowly began to lead them to the entrance of the tavern. "Just tell me where we need to go."

Vanille nodded. "I feel a little dizzy, but..." She pointed up at the open sky, inhaling sharply as they walked out from the darkened room. "_Look!_"

Serah nearly gasped at the sight of each gray, motionless cloud, suspended within the pale, frozen sky. "Everything? It _all_ stopped..."

Lightning squeezed at their hands. "Just for an hour, remember." She glanced over to the side. "Your aura, Vanille..."

Vanille looked down at herself. "I see it..." She blinked once, gazing at each strand of pale, orange energy as they tightened and swirled. "...We just need to keep walking forward."

Lightning nodded. "I really did think that you were a Seraph, when I first saw you..." She walked out along the sidewalk, weaving in-between each silent, motionless pedestrian, suspended in place. "Your aura was just that strong."

Vanille kept quiet for a while, until she caught sight of a stationary flock of birds, hovering just beside a lone man on a bicycle, who was staring straight ahead. "It's... It's been all I can think about since then... This sort of stuff, it doesn't _seem_ real, but it feels..." She blinked at the sight of a frozen group of people, standing just beside the crosswalk. "It all _feels_ so real."

Lightning moved beside each of the stony figures, leading her friends onward into the street. "I felt the same way about Earth, at first." She passed out into the maze of vehicles, but she kept her gaze on the horizon, upon the sidewalk up ahead. "They always said it was a terrible, beautiful planet, full of people out to kill us... It was pretty hard to learn just how wrong the former was."

After a moment of walking, Serah looked down at her feet. "Light?"

Lightning led them down to a corner. "Yeah?"

Serah hugged Mog close for a moment, holding him just bit tighter with her free hand. "I'm just wondering, um..." She began to chew at her bottom lip. "Was the Sanctum _right_ about anything, though? Do you remember anything they said, near the end..?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "Let's focus on the task at hand, okay?" She blinked twice when a soft, wavering light flickered out from beyond the next corner. "We might just have our answers soon enough."

Serah kept quiet until they had reached the source of the trembling glow, before she suddenly began to smile. "Some friends, maybe?"

Mog chirped from beside her chest. "Hello!"

The fluttering group of creatures merely swirled around, bobbing in place, gently illuminating the path before them.

"Looks that way." Lightning reached out to tap at one of the hovering, weightless beings. "Wonder if they can understand us..."

Vanille stepped forward, before she let go of Lightning's hand, holding both of hers aloft. "They want us to follow them." She closed her eyes to concentrate. "_They_ know where the seers are... They want to see us, too."

"Alright..." Lightning nodded at the pearly, hovering flock. "Show us the way, then?" As she spoke, Serah's hand dropped from hers, but when Lightning looked back over her shoulder, she found that the sidewalk was already gone, crumbling away from beneath their very feet. "Serah?"

Serah looked up, and her eyes went wide.

Lightning took a step forward. "What's-?"

"Be..." A low, yet gentle voice soon echoed out over the gathering shade. "Be not afraid."

Serah stepped back as she gazed up, staring into the approaching, whispery force. "Wait, what-?"

"Be calm." The figure stood tall, shadowed by what almost seemed to look like a set of grand, curling antlers. "We merely wish to speak."

Vanille's eyes went wide. "You..? _You're_-"

The woman stepped forth, donning a solid, even stance, but yet her eyes were filled with only gentleness, a deep, shining green below her flowing, orange hair. "Little Vanille..." The willowy woman smiled down at her. "It had been long since I foresaw the day of your birth, and yet it feels as if I've known you many, many lifetimes over."

Vanille stared up at the woman, and swell of moisture gathered in her eyes. "You... You _look_ like, the pictures-"

The woman set her hands down on Vanille's shoulders. "Your mother is well at rest, now." She blinked once, staring down at what almost looked like a younger version of herself. "She... She was my great-granddaughter, albeit many times over... And my name is Hecate."

Lightning's eyes widened slightly, but she kept silent as Hecate continued to speak.

Hecate nodded to herself. "We have been long awaiting your arrival, for many eons, and _yet_... Time becomes somewhat trivial within this realm... Like a dream." Hecate tipped her head to the sky, revealing a set of wide, pearly wings, to which her soft, almost cream-colored feathers began to rustle. "Child of vision, welcome to our fold."

Vanille could feel them, the gathering sounds that began to echo back and forth within her mind, and as her lungs swelled out with unspoken, unheard words, but the only phrase she could find was swiftly lost upon her lips, so she leaned forward, tightly hugging the tall, elegant figure.

Another voice rolled out on a whisper, swept along by the gathering wind. "When one gazes upon the whole of time itself..." A second woman moved out from within the shadows, but her gaze was very distant, as if she couldn't see any of them at all. "A sacrifice, one death to ordain another... It _seems_ so small, at least in the grand scheme of things." After a moment, her dark, blue hair fluttered out into the air. "Oh, Noel... If only you could have _seen_."

Lightning turned to stare at the pale, diminutive woman, before she took a slow step forward. "Is your name Yeul?"

"Yes." Yeul's pale skin flickered within the shadows. "I am one of many, however... Each strand is but a thread to the rest." She soon moved, turning to face Lightning, but she kept her gaze fixed on the distance. "The one Noel that loved has _long_ since laid to rest, and yet... She _thinks_ of him, with every passing moment." Yeul paused after a moment, gazing up at Lightning's face. "She _does_ wish to be at his side once more."

Hecate began to speak once more, slowly guiding Vanille off to the side. "We mean _not_ to harm our kin, only to guide the patterns of time in their favor." She reached out, etching to life the image of a great, sprawling tree. "You can see, with each branch... How they will inevitably split off into the next? In a strand where Noel's only option was to _search_..."

Vanille could only as each image flashed before her, gazing along the outline of a young man, utterly wracked with grief, who soon began to quarrel with a figure she didn't recognize.

"He searched, and _searched_... Until the time was finally right." Hecate brushed her fingertips over the lines, until two of the branches started to intersect, and another vision flickered forth.

A set of fingers had clasped themselves tightly around the slumbering, silvery device, until it began to gently glow, drawing forth a steady, beating tick.

"Which in turn, would affect the next..."

A sleek, curved bow sat in near silence upon its partner's back, but when she turned to look out over the village center, the watch inlaid upon the handle began to slow, until it had fallen completely silent.

"An individual sacrifice, one to benefit another..." Hecate drew out further lines, winding them back and forth, until they began to resemble twin, branching paths. "Such is the way of the _seer_... With each vision, we find ourselves ever closer to blindness."

Vanille frowned, staring up at Hecate. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Hecate let out a long, whispery sigh. "_This_ is my gift to you..." After reaching into the pocket of her robes, Hecate set down an unusual, folded device into Vanille's hands. "Soul of Hecatoncheir, watch over this daughter of ours... Show her the path."

Vanille looked down at the sleek, weapon-like object, before she instinctively shifted her own weight, allowing it to flip out into a slender staff, adorned at the top by a curling set of antlers. "What are you talking about, though?" She glanced back up at Hecate, but the woman had already started to turn away. "Please, don't-!" Vanille bit back a quiet cry. "Don't leave.."

Hecate stood in silence for a moment, before she looked over at Yeul. "When you have finished here, find me, with the rest." She slowly began to walk back to Vanille's side, quietly pressing a single, motherly kiss atop her head. "May you have only the best of luck, little one."

"Wait, but..." Vanille clutched at the staff in her hands, before she began to sniffle, reaching out to hug her again. "I don't-"

Hecate shook her head. "Be still, daughter of sight..." She reached up to pat at the back of Vanille's head, slowly glancing over at both Lightning and Serah. "You yet have friends in this mortal world, lest you lose your way."

After a moment, Lightning took a step forward. "...Does the name 'Bhakti' mean anything to you?"

Hecate smiled. "Such a good little friend... Keep him safe for me, would you?" She stared deep into Lightning's eyes. "Tell him... Please tell him, that I am truly sorry for what we allowed the Sanctum to do, but there was little option at that point."

Lightning nearly started to question her again, but when she caught the worn, weathered look in Hecate's eyes, that of a suppressed, yet unyielding weariness, she began to nod instead. "I will."

"But, _wait_..." Serah looked between them. "What happened back then? Why was the Vestige..?"

Hecate's figure began to fade, but she remained in place, still embracing Vanille. "We do not have enough time, child of Cocoon." She nodded over at Serah. "Seek your answers, as you _should_, but I fear that I am not long for this world, or the next."

Vanille shivered in place, muffling a quiet cry. "She's-"

Hecate nodded. "You _see_ it." She gently touched Vanille's shoulder. "Carry on, for me... And do not mourn for long." She soon moved back, and as her tall, graceful form stepped to the side, her wings began to sink down, resting just beneath her shoulders. "Everything... _E___verything__ returns to the same place, after all... Given enough time."

Vanille moved to cover her mouth with one of her hands, before she shivered, watching as Hecate began to fade, scattering out over the darkened realm, until her body had completely disappeared.

"She rests." Yeul turned to face the horizon, slowly bowing her head. "And now, one more may return... As is the way of the seer."

Serah almost let out a gasp when an identical figure stepped forth, blue hair wisping at her sides.

The first Yeul silently walked out into the shadows, while the second merely stared at them, before she nodded with the tiniest hint of a smile, speaking in a slightly more youthful voice then her peer. "Hello."

"You'll be coming back with us, then?" Lightning glanced at the world around them, one with seemingly no exit. "You'll be... Guiding us back?"

Yeul nodded. "I will... Noel has played his part, as I will now play mine." She walked up to stand beside them. "I must ask, though, what do _you_ hope to accomplish with your current course of action?"

Lightning tensed slightly, before she turned back to look at Yeul. "How would you-?"

Yeul smiled. "I'm a seer... We see all the important things before they even _happen_." She nodded up at Lightning. "And you... You are on a _very_ unusual path."

Serah spoke up. "Hey, what sort of important things?" She took a step forward. "I can't even remember-"

Yeul's smile fell. "Like Hecate said, we don't have much time here before this hour ends... We should get back to Earth before we talk."

Lightning reached over to squeeze at Vanille's shoulder. "Hey... Are you going to be okay?"

With a quiet sniffle, Vanille reached up to wipe at her eyes with a nod. "I will." She spoke softly, yet somewhat strained. "It was good to meet someone... Someone like me."

Lightning nodded as well. "Let's get back, then." She slowly released Vanille's shoulder. "I'd bet Fang would like to know about this, wouldn't you?"

Vanille slowly smiled, before she took hold of Lightning's hand again. "Thank you." She walked forward as Yeul began to lead the way, glancing down at her own fingers. "You're a lot like her, you know."

Lightning glanced down as the shadows began to curl, unraveling around them. "Well..."

Vanille giggled. "If I hadn't already met _Serah_, I would've said that you must be a big sister, too!"

Serah giggled back. "They've got a type, don't they?"

Vanille nodded, even when her shoes touched down on the sidewalk, before a bright, fluttering creature crossed into her line of vision. "Definitely." She squeezed at Lightning's hand. "We can be sisters, right? It doesn't have to be a blood connection."

Lightning looked back at her with a tiny smile. "Looks like Fang might have some competition..."

Vanille scoffed. "I can _have_ more than one big sister!" She quietly giggled again. "If anything, it'll just give her someone to relate with."

As the gray, motionless world unfurled once more before them, Yeul paused upon the sidewalk, staring up into the sky. "It's been... Such a long time." She exhaled, and her aura shivered, spreading out, which sent a dark black, almost blue wingspan to her sides. "In Etro's realm, time doesn't really seem to move, but..."

"Etro?" Serah walked up to stand beside Yeul's wings. "Back there, that was..?"

Yeul nodded. "Etro herself, _she_ created the potential for seers to exist, with the very last of her remaining power... Before Bhunivelze locked her away."

Vanille looked down at the staff in her hand, before she lifted it up, staring along the white, polished surface. "So, um..."

Yeul turned to face Vanille, tucking away her wings. "Draw upon your aura."

Vanille frowned a bit. "I'm not really sure, how to..." She blinked once, gazing along each sweeping curve of the proud, crowning antlers. "But I can try." Vanille let her eyes drift shut, and as she focused deep within, she felt the same words echo on throughout her mind once more, until they became almost a mantra, repeating as if she had always carried them along within her.

"Vanille?"

She kept silent, concentrating, until a weight almost seemed to lift from her hand, before she opened her eyes, slowly, carefully taking sight of the towering beast before her.

The tall, russet stag stood tall upon the winding sidewalk, yet it kept completely still, staring down at the people before it, save for its slim, swiveling ears.

Vanille looked up with a small, breathy laugh. "Hecatoncheir... How is it that I know him so well?" She slowly reached up to touch along the creature's muzzle, petting atop its snout. "It feels like we've _always_-"

"A familiar." Yeul looked at the stag from the corner of her eye. "Auras can be passed down through generations, and certain familiars can do the same."

Hecatoncheir soon lifted his head, staring out at the frozen city streets. "Awake... Again? It's been _long_." He blinked after a long moment, before a warm puff of breath left his mouth. "Very long."

Vanille stared up at the slim, yet curling antlers atop Hecatoncheir's head. "Hey, are you like Serah and Lightning's familiars?"

Hecatoncheir took a slow step forward, and his hooves clicked down against the pavement, echoing out in the dead silence of the street. "How so?"

Vanille let go of Lightning's hand to follow him. "Well, I don't know..." She giggled when the stag nuzzled at her shoulder. "I'm really new to all this stuff, you know."

Hecatoncheir stopped within the middle of the road for a moment, before he looked up, gazing at the sky. "I... I have watched from afar, for many, _many_ years as this bloodline remained so inert..." He looked back at Vanille. "The day you were born, my heart sang again for the first time in _centuries_."

Vanille's eyes widened as Hecatoncheir gazed into them. "But, wait... I thought you were Hecate's familiar?"

Hecatoncheir began to lower his head, and his antlers followed suit, casting an intricate shadow on his neck. "In death, a familiar is at _rest_... Immobile, like this very hour." He turned to face Vanille again, staring into her eyes. "We have been waiting for you to find us."

Vanille's heartbeat quickened, and she took a sharp breath of air. "So... What happens now?"

Hecatoncheir lifted his head. "Now, it begins."

While Lightning looked on from afar, she was slowly drawn back to attention when the watch in her hand began to shimmer, and as she took a closer look at the device, her eyes went wide, and with a shout, she leapt into action. "Vanille, out of the _street!_"

Hecatoncheir immediately leapt up as well, sweeping Vanille onto his back with a grunt, before he lowered his head, charging, leaping out and away mere moments before an _eruption_ of both sound and movement flared out over the street, shattering the utter silence that had swallowed the world before.

As soon as her ears had stopped ringing, and her heard had slowed to a gentle thrum, Vanille looked down at herself. The staff rested over her lap, while a torrent of rushing, rumbling traffic plowed throughout the street, before her very eyes.

Lightning dropped towards the sidewalk, kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?" After a moment, she narrowed her eyes at the watch in her hand. "I should've been _looking_-"

Vanille shook her head, reached down to clutch at the staff. "I'm okay, it's all okay..." She took a moment to breathe, while her body quietly wracked with shivers. "That was real close, huh..?"

Serah let out a sharp breath from behind her. "You nearly scared _me_ to death..!"

Vanille slowly looked down at the weapon in her hands, before she reached out to fold it up, hooking the wooden clasp at the hilt to the belt of her skirt. "I'm okay, really..." She slowly began to rise back to her feet, before she nodded, turning to face her friends. "All good, see?"

Lightning glanced down at the watch in her hand, and then back to Vanille. "If you say so." She looked on as the device slowly began to lose its shimmer, while the floating particles around it started to fade, until they had completely disappeared. "Serah... How's Mog?"

Serah held up the tiny moogle. "Well..." She began to smile when she saw the watch at his collar ticking steadily in place, counting just a moment past noon. "He looks just fine."

The silver watch counted on as well, and Lightning stared down at it for a moment, before she clasped it shut and set it back within her pocket. "Well, the others are probably wondering where we went..." She nodded at Yeul. "And _you_ have a friend to meet up with."

Yeul smiled, nodding back. "Let's go."

* * *

There was rather a lovely medley of scent carrying itself around the tavern tables, and while the various regular patrons kept to themselves at the bar, a small, motley crowd all sat together in the corner by the windows, chatting quietly beneath the setting sun.

"So what's this called, again?" Serah looked down at the colorful dish between them. "They look... Interesting."

"Never heard of sliders?" Noel soon chuckled to himself. "Ah, your first time down here, right..."

Fang chuckled as well. "They're just little cheeseburgers." After she had taken a bite, she spoke again while shaking her head. "Hell, am I gonna need to explain cows again..?"

Lightning nearly flushed. "Just _try_ one, Serah." She leaned back in the booth when Fang winked at her, but she quickly found that she couldn't take her eyes away from the assembled group, nearly all of which were packed into the corner bench together. "Well, maybe we can take you out sometime for steak."

Vanille began to giggle. "Oh, you should have seen your _face_, Light!" She leaned forward with a grin. "It almost looked like you were about to storm the kitchen for _more_ once you'd finished..."

Lightning cleared her throat, glancing away as the table shared a collective laugh.

Fang slowly rolled her eyes. "Well, _now_ I know what to cook when you guys come to visit..." She reached out for another slider. "You guys _will_ come visit, right? I'll get Vanille to clean up all her junk before you get there..."

"_My_ junk?" With a scoff, Vanille reached over to swat at Fang's arm. "And _who_ exactly bought a lifetime supply of beef jerky just because, and I quote, 'it looked like a sweet bargain'?"

Fang only smiled.

Serah laughed to break the silence. "Well, we do have some plans to set up a school of sorts, back at home, so it might be a while before we have time to visit." She carefully bit down on one of the tiny cheeseburgers. "Oh, this _is_ pretty good..."

Hope spoke up. "It was only about an hour of flying, though; it shouldn't be too hard to make the trip back and forth in the future."

"As long as _you_ don't make friends with any more trees..." Lightning bit back a smile. "I think we might just go back to ground-level sparring at this rate."

Hope tried his best to frown at her, but the amusement in Lightning's voice made him start to smile as well. "You just wait 'til I start getting good at magic..."

Vanille held up her own hands. "Hey, me too! I'm going to keep practicing, and-" Beside the end of the bar, the front doors suddenly came open with a creak, and Vanille fell quiet, before she slowly leaned forward, gazing at the pair of individuals that walked out into the tavern.

"Oi!" Fang tried to stand up from her space in the booth, but she couldn't quite maneuver herself out with people at both of her sides. "You, you've got some _explaining_ to do, missy!"

Chocolina stuck out her tongue for a moment, before she sauntered over, tugging up a chair. "I suppose I _do_, don't I?" She winked at both Fang and Vanille. "Quite the exciting turn of events, from what I hear..."

Sazh sat down as well, laughing under his breath. "Leave it to you kids, digging up all this stuff before we can explain it..."

Fang looked between them both. "So, spill." She focused on Chocolina herself. "I want to know _everything_."

Chocolina slowly began to nod. "Well then... I have a confession to make."

Vanille frowned a bit.

With a quiet giggle, Chocolina spoke again. "I'm _not_ actually your aunt... On your _mother's_ side." She leaned back in her chair with a low, mirthful sigh. "Oh, now where to start? Your mother was a very lovely woman, but she didn't quite know what she was getting into with your father..."

Fang narrowed her eyes. "He walked _out_ on us."

The table grew steadily more silent, even as the rest of the group continued to say nothing.

After a moment, Chocolina met Fang's gaze with a slight twinkle in her eyes. "Not _willingly_."

Fang's breath almost caught.

"Oh, he was a _lot_ of things, my brother..." Chocolina shook her head. "But! He would never have abandoned his family, not if he could help it." She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking deep. "We learned later on that your mother came from a long lineage of humans... A few of which were actually some percentage of Nephilim, like yourselves."

Vanille leaned forward slightly. "What?! So we have it in-"

"Both sides." Sazh glanced over Vanille's aura, noting the added swirl of color that thrummed within the energy itself. "But you've got quite a bit of human in there, too."

Fang sat in silence for a while, before she let her hands tighten upon her lap. "Where _is_ our dad, then?" She stared at Chocolina, who in turn looked down at her feet.

"He's..." Chocolina cleared her throat, speaking quietly. "He's gone, Fang." She slowly shook her head. "I would have... I'd have been swept up too, if he hadn't hidden us."

Fang nearly frowned. "'Hidden us'?"

Chocolina nodded. "You were only nine, if I remember right..." She let out a soft sigh. "Your mother knew too, of course, but they both felt that the two of you should be raised to know human society, first... So that you would learn to appreciate that part of yourselves."

"What... What happened?" Vanille spoke in a near whisper. "If it's okay to-"

Serah spoke up after a moment, quietly as well. "If you'd rather we leave..."

Fang grit her teeth. "Doesn't matter, let's just get it over and done with." She looked down at herself, fighting back a sigh. "I don't need secrets... Doesn't matter at all if they hear it."

Chocolina tapped her fingers together, before she glanced down at the wooden floor, somewhat lost in thought. "Vanille was just a baby... I remember the way she had such _bright_ orange curls, even the moment she was born."

Vanille traced her fingers over the folded staff at her side.

Chocolina continued with a nod. "Well, the Sanctum, they don't tend to take well to 'deserters'... Your father and I had fled together, and for a while, we were living down here without any trouble at all, so when he met your mother..." She paused to take a long breath. "When you were born, Fang... I knew that someday you'd be such a _strong_ young lady." Chocolina gazed into her niece's eyes, staring at the vibrant green within. "Just like your father said."

"Was he..?" Fang blinked, allowing her jaw to relax. "I don't really remember much about him."

"When Vanille was born, your mother said she had a dream the night before." Chocolina slowly shook her head. "She told me, then... She _knew_ exactly what would happen over the next few weeks; it was the first time she'd ever shown a _hint_ of magical ability." With a tiny nod, Chocolina looked over at Vanille. "And when it was all said and done, I knew that Vanille would someday be the same."

"My dreams..." Vanille smiled a little, before she tapped along the smooth, flowing antlers of her staff. "You knew, didn't you?"

Chocolina smiled as well. "Before seeing that, I was planning to tell the both of you once you had hit somewhere in your fifties... Once you had started to wonder why you hadn't aged a _day_ past your mid-thirties."

Fang looked up with a slight tilt of her head. "Wait, _we're_-?"

Sazh chuckled. "Welcome to the millennium club, kiddos..." He leaned back in his chair. "It's a _long_ haul, but I can't say it won't be a lot of fun."

* * *

Scattered traffic rumbled back and forth, while long, flickering shadows danced out in a rhythm against the city streets, cast off by all the various shops and storefronts that only came alive within the restless urban nights, illuminating the very atmosphere itself.

Several sets of footfalls touched down, one after another, walking almost in unison upon the bustling, concrete sidewalk.

"...Does it really look okay?" Serah ran her fingertips over the ruffled hem of her shirt, before she grimaced slightly at the way her legs were restricted by the jeans that they had just purchased. "I've always worn shorts, or skirts... This is a little weird."

Noel spoke up from beside her. "No winters on Cocoon, I remember, now... You'll have to get used to the cold if you come visit in the winter."

Lightning spoke up from beside her. "It looks fine, Serah."

"Yeah!" Vanille let out a giggle, skipping alongside them. "You look great!"

Serah smiled a bit. "Thank you..." She reached down to smooth away the wrinkles from her shirt. "I'll have to put an enchantment on these, too..."

Lightning glanced down at her own jacket. "I'll lend a hand if you need it."

Fang suddenly spoke up, pointing off at a patch of green on the horizon. "There's our stop..."

Serah and Hope began to frown, while Lightning simply looked over at the park, before the sound of a soft, nearby voice caught her attention. "Lightning."

As she looked over at the lone, slender figure, Lightning began to nod. "Yes?"

Yeul glanced over at the rest of their group, before she paused, almost motionless upon the sidewalk. "May I have a quick word?"

Lightning turned, waving at the rest of their group. "Keep going. We'll catch up." She soon moved back to step beside Yeul, who had slowed her pace to a steady walk. "Yeah?"

Yeul closed her eyes for a moment, merely listening to the sounds of the crowd around her. "Well, I'll keep this simple... I can see every possible outcome of what you plan to accomplish."

Slowly, Lightning started to bite along her inner cheek, but it did nothing to stop the growing sensation that something was crawling beneath her spine. "Look, just because you're a _seer_..."

Yeul continued to speak. "I am a seer, yes... But first and foremost, I am a Seraph." She looked over at Lightning, narrowing her eyes. "I know more about you than you do _yourself__,_ and I sincerely hope that you... That you might grow to trust me, just enough to guide you down this path."

After a moment of thought, Lightning quirked a single eyebrow in Yeul's direction. "You really aren't going to try and talk me out of it?"

Yeul merely smiled.

Lightning paused, standing completely still. "You _want_ this."

"I want what's best for our people." Yeul narrowed her eyes at the sidewalk, before she slowly swiveled in place. "Despite some of your... Past decisions, you are an admirable example of the Seraphic race, and from what I've seen of the possible future..." She lowered her voice, leaning in for a moment to whisper beside Lightning's ear. "The end, it's getting closer than you _think_... Unless we can stop it in time."

Lightning's blood went frigid, but she kept herself motionless, even as the crowd around her seemed to fall silent, despite the growing, unyielding rumble within her eardrums.

Slowly, Yeul reached up, brushing away a strand of blue hair from her face. "We've known since the very beginning, but our efforts to reveal it have fallen on deaf ears, or..." She frowned. "Worse, been silenced."

Lightning turned to look at Yeul, staring deep into her soft, yet unwavering gaze.

A glimmer soon filled Yeul's eyes. "Let me guide you... We _can_ turn the tides, but only with absolute cooperation!" After a moment, she glanced off, staring out into the distance, before she inhaled, breathing deeply of the crisp, night air. "But there _are always_ many variables... I've seen you die over a thousand times, and Serah even more."

Lightning was moving, then, but she hadn't taken a single step, and when she spoke, her voice nearly caught. "She _won't_-"

"I know that you'll protect her as best you can." Yeul slowly shook her head. "Watch your borders, Lightning... And keep your eyes open."

Lightning watched as Yeul began to walk forward again, before she turned, gazing off into the city.

"My eyes are _always_ open." Lightning slowly grit her teeth. "And we're hidden... Very hidden."

"I suppose so." Yeul blinked at the buildings above. "But will it be enough?"


	10. Awakening

It was still a long walk back to the outskirts of the park, but try as she might, Lightning couldn't quite shake the trembles from her stomach. Even when she looked over at her friends, carrying on as if they had always done so, she still felt the sheer strength of the echoes, fluttering about within her mind.

Yeul was strolling beside her, and when she spoke, it was quieter than before. "I wonder how much things have changed since I've been gone..." Her arms were drifting down at her sides, and she was staring out over the glittering cityscape, taking it all in at leisurely pace. "These buildings, they're so..."

Noel spoke up from slightly ahead. "Impressive, huh?" He moved over to walk beside them, hands in his pockets.

Yeul began to nod. "You really don't focus on stuff like this, even when you're... Watching." She glanced over towards where Vanille and Serah were talking, just ahead, only slightly out of earshot. "But it does feels good to be back in action."

After a moment, Noel's shoulders went tense. "We do have some things to catch up on, don't we?" For a while, he stared over at Yeul as if she might slip away at any moment, to fade back into the realm she had been residing in for so long. "...Maybe not now, but once you feel situated again, I'd like to know _everything_ that went down, back then, same with right now."

Yeul glanced back at him, and slowly, she began to nod. "Count on it."

Lightning began to look away from the pair, urging herself a bit to catch up with the rest of the group. "Hey, Hope... How's the arm?"

Hope turned to face her with a smile. "Light, don't worry about it..." He lifted his arm up between them. "It doesn't even sting anymore."

Lightning narrowed her eyes, and she leaned in to examine the makeshift bandaging, but after a moment, she nodded at him. "Just keep me updated on it." Slowly, she began to look back at the sidewalk, and then over at the nearby patch of green beside it, which led out into the low, hilly fields of the park. "Are you ready to head home?"

After a moment, Hope nodded. "This place wasn't really like I thought it would be." His gaze drifted up, traveling along the outlines of the massive, towering skyscrapers, and then back down, towards the smaller, yet imposing buildings below, until he was finally looking back at the distant forest, which slumbered just within the middle of the park. "All the stories I've heard... They all say different things, but nothing like this."

Lightning glanced at the ground. "I know what you mean." After a moment, she looked up to see Serah waving at her from just up ahead. "But it does remind me of when I was a kid." She slowly began to wave back. "There was always something different around every corner, and everything felt so... So new."

"Hey, Light!" Serah skipped over to stand beside them. "Has Vanille told you about the festivals that they have here in the park?" Her aura was shimmering, rippling in place. "We've got to come back sometime soon and go with them, okay?"

Lightning took a long moment to examine Serah's expression, and for a moment, it was almost as if she were looking at her sister as a mere child once again, begging her to come along and look at something that she had found. "...We'll talk about it."

Serah tried to calm herself, slightly, before she turned around to look at Fang and Vanille, who were standing closer to the edge of the park. "I mean, they _did_ sort of invite us... It'd be rude to not come visit them at least once in a while."

Lightning fought the sudden urge to sharpen her own tone, to speak out and remind Serah of their lone, little village, and of their responsibility towards its people, but when she saw the way Serah was staring at her, so genuinely _happy_, just to... Exist, and to be standing there beside her, that Lightning merely began to nod, and walk forward again.

Fang gave them a tiny wave. "Everything alright over there?" She was leaning against the metal barrier that separated the field from the sidewalk, twirling a set of car keys in her hand. "Looks like a clear night, so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting back."

Lightning walked up beside them. "I want to thank you for helping us today." She looked over at Vanille, and then down at the pearly, folded staff that she had clipped to her belt. "Hey, talk to your aunt about that, okay? And everything else that happened back there."

Vanille nodded. "I will." She began to smile, despite the somewhat distant look in her eyes, as something within them had been slightly shifted. "Fly safely, okay?"

Fang nodded as well. "Yeah, can't have you end up getting pancaked on the side of a skyscraper, now can we?" She leaned forward to nudge at Lightning's shoulder. "But _seriously_, get home safe."

Lightning could only watch when her own aura began to move, bracing itself for when they made contact, and for a moment, only a moment, she could see the sharp, jagged outline of Fang's figure curl out and change, reacting to the link between them.

"Hey, you okay?"

Lightning blinked. "Yes... Sorry." She shook her head. "Just a little tired after all this." Lightning looked back over her shoulder to see that both Noel and Yeul had somewhat caught up with them, but were lingering back slightly, gazing out over the park. "Hey, Noel."

He looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"I meant what I said before, no overdoing it." She narrowed her eyes, looking at the side of his waist, where she knew that his wound still stood, despite the way he was standing. "You tear that open, and you really _will_ need to find an actual doctor."

Noel quickly nodded, and gave her a short salute with his wrist. "Loud and clear, ma'am."

After rolling her eyes at him, Lightning turned back to look at Hope and Serah, who were standing just beside her. "Time for us to head home." She quickly reached out to ruffle her hands through the hair atop both their heads, but before they could formulate a protest, she was off, deftly ducking down beneath the railing, and then out into the fields below.

She ran without stopping. only glancing back to wave at the group they had left behind, and for a moment, Lightning swore that she could see Noel's wings. One was braced against the metal barrier, beside where he was resting his arm, while the other was wrapped around Yeul's, which were a much softer blue in comparison.

And when Lightning looked to the side, to where Fang and Vanille were standing, she could still see their own, brightened auras, one black, one orange, swirling out into the darkened, yet luminous city night.

She tucked her head down, running beneath the cover of trees, before her own wings snapped out into the air, sending her aloft.

* * *

A lone figure paced the narrow, silent streets, and in the dead of night, his only obstacles was only the occasional wandering drunk, or perhaps the stray cats that crossed his path. There was one that lingered, staring up at him with a look that made him chuckle.

It was a tawny creature, small and thin, likely from having to rely on wild rats, or whatever else it could find in the garbage.

The man knelt down, speaking softly, with his hand outstretched. "Hey, you. Notice all the commotion today?" He watched as the cat slowly began to approach him, until finally, it had nosed at the tip of his fingers. "Something like that's gonna make for one _weird_ report, isn't it?"

The creature mewled at him, but after a moment, it had disappeared into a nearby alleyway.

"No time to chat?" The man rose back up to his feet, continuing on his way. "Much less talkative than I remember..." He almost laughed under his breath, but upon sight of a low, nearby doorway, and the swinging sign above it, he thought better of the idea.

When he pushed himself though the doors, the varying scents of food, alcohol, and somehow, something entirely different began flood his senses. "Some things, on the other hand..." He slowly began to walk forward, taking a seat at the end of the bar. "Never change."

It was a short while before the back door swung open, but soon, a familiar face had entered his line of vision. "Amodar, you old devil..."

Amodar grinned as he walked up behind the bar, sliding an empty glass across the countertop as he did so. "Damn, boy! It's not every day we get visits from our _good_ friend, officer dandy..." He clapped at the visitor's shoulder with a low, barking laugh. "_Rygdea!_ Where've you gotten off to lately..? Having too much fun with the boys in blue to remember little old us?"

Rygdea nearly snorted under his breath. "You _know_ where my loyalty's at." He reached out for the empty glass, but Amodar blocked his hand.

"Hey, you on duty?" There was a small twinkle in Amodar's eyes, keen as a lofty hawk. "I can't imagine that you'd take time out of the blue for recreation... Not these days, at least."

Rygdea stared back at him, matching the challenge in his gaze. "Came here to speak with you, actually." He slowly leaned forward in his seat, resting his right arm against the counter. "Real interesting case, today..."

Amodar reached aside for a translucent bottle, one with a dark, amber liquid inside.

"We got a call about what sounded like normal gang activity; guy was running for his life in broad daylight." Rygdea watched the swirl of alcohol pour down, touching against the bottom of the cup with a quiet gurgle. "Dispatch rolled out fast, but _strangely_..." He reached for the glass. "By the time I got there... Case was declared, at least temporarily, null."

"Wonder why that could be..." Amodar slowly poured a glass for himself. "Well, I'm sure forensics had a good enough reason."

Rygdea took a short swig, savoring the fiery sensation upon his tongue, seeping down into his throat, and the warm, tingling sensation that began to swirl about his veins. "The place was a bloodbath, but we no body... Found a couple strands of hair, some of it even viable for testing." He leaned back again, turning the cup between his fingertips. "But none of it was human."

"...That _would_ be out of the ordinary." Amodar smiled into his drink, despite the look Rygdea gave him. "Been a while since I've heard anything like that."

Rygdea narrowed his eyes with a quiet growl. "I _can't_ keep them off your tail forever..." He lowered his voice, glancing around at the other various patrons of the bar, but nearly all of them were either asleep, giggling to themselves, or flat on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm serious, Amodar."

"Well you know... I was actually gonna call you, earlier today." Amodar tugged up a rolling stool, and he took a seat, leaning to the side. "Misplaced a little trinket of mine, but it all turned out to be internal affairs, you know."

At the other end of the bar, a young man who had been clearing tables glanced away, but the woman sitting nearby him did nothing to hide her stare, gazing out at both Amodar and the mysterious newcomer.

Rygdea lowered his voice even further. "_Seraphim,_ Amodar? Are you _serious?_"

"Easy now..." Amodar kept his voice low as well. "We're all friends in here, if you've forgotten."

For a moment, Rygdea stared back at the woman who had such sharp, green eyes, but he made no move to stand up from his seat, instead glancing back at Amodar. "All I'm saying, is..." Carefully, he set his drink back down on the counter. "If you don't make trouble, there won't _be_ trouble, and if I ever have to compromise my cover, so be it... But you are _not_ as crafty as you think you are."

Amodar slowly nodded. "Nobody is."

* * *

The sky was black as pitch beyond the outer layer of clouds, and when Serah glanced down at the air below her, she found that she could no longer see the land below, only a mass of gray, churning mist.

"Won't be much longer." Lightning flapped her wings against the strong winds, squinting to see the position of the stars up ahead. "I do know this route pretty well, but sometimes the shard drifts a bit..."

Hope kept close to her side, beating his wings onward with all the strength that he had. "Hey... I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up this pace." Lightning could see that was panting slightly, but she couldn't tell if the liquid on his face was sweat, or simply residue from their flight through the clouds.

Serah called out from just up ahead. "You're doing great!" She pointed off into the distance. "Light, you can kind of _feel_ it, can't you? I think that's the gravity field."

Lightning nodded. "You won't be able to see it though, not until we're right up on top of it..." She suddenly narrowed her eyes. Above the rush of air beside her ears, she caught hold of the distant, almost warbling of something... Mechanical.

Before she could call out a warning or even brace her wings to halt herself, a blinding ray of light shot out from within the hazy atmosphere, illuminating the three of them.

"Serah!" Lightning shouted, reaching out, until she had finally found purchase on her sister's shoulder, and she tugged with all her might, hurling Serah's flight path out and away from the beam. "_Hope_, where are you?!"

"Light?!" Serah called out at her from somewhere in the distance, but even when she squinted, Lightning couldn't quite see her through the brightness.

"Serah, just _fly!_" Lightning felt her own eyes squeeze shut, but she soon forced herself to open them slightly, just enough to see where Hope was; his wings were drifting, gliding himself along the lower currents of air. "_Follow_ her, Hope! I'll meet you both over at rendezvous four!"

Hope's eyes went wide with recognition, and he nodded up at her.

Lightning's wings went taught, folding in on themselves, and her lips parted with a snarl when she turned to face the gathering light. "Long time, no see..."

The airship passed through the clouds with ease, rumbling on with both a deafening peal of sound, and constant vibrations, which her to the core.

Lightning saw Serah's departure from the corner of her eye, and she nearly smiled at the lithe, practiced grace that she used to accomplish it.

She lowered her voice to whisper. "Odin..." Lightning suddenly flapped, spreading out her mighty wings to each side, before her gunblade materialized, resting just within her open palm. "Let's hope you aren't rusty."

At the top of her back, her aura swelled, focusing itself around both her upper limbs and feathers, until they were almost completely hidden by the bright, swelling glow.

The ship groaned to a halt, shifting to a steady hover, before the mechanical sounds went dim, echoing quietly across the clouds.

"Sergeant Farron!" The voice boomed out over a speaker system, and she could only just catch sight of the figure who stepped out onto the bow. "We will accept your immediate surrender."

She slowly grit her teeth, then flew.

The man with sharp eyes, and a cold, lengthy sword was staring back at her. "...Never one for taking the easy route." His own feathers snapped against the wind, nearly as silver as the steel in his blade.

Lightning rose up, illuminated by the wide, blinding headlight, but she hovered for only a moment, before her wings swept down, and she dove straight for the airship itself.

Steel raised against steel, Rosch hissed, launching himself right into the impact, but Lightning snarled back, flaring her wings out with a sharp, mighty flap.

The steel screeched against its equal, sliding, grating, _screaming_ until it all went still, and they were left with locked, silent blades.

"Sergeant Farron..." Rosch had braced both his arms into the clash, halting her blade with his own, which resting mere inches from either of their faces. "Now that's a face I haven't seen in many years."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Nice scar." With a glance towards the blooded mark on his forehead, she gripped tighter along the handle of her gunblade, refusing to relent from her first, furious strike. "Shame I didn't give it to you."

Rosch almost laughed, but when the sound caught in his throat, he glanced back at the rush of assembling soldiers, who began to gather all around them, weapons raised. "Your _teeth_ are not as sharp as you think..."

Lightning kept her gaze locked on his, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. "My talons are."

His eyes almost seemed to flicker. "Lower your weapon, and you have my word... We'll take you and your people in alive."

"_I'm_ not going back there." Her wings rose up even higher, and her muscles strained, pushing the clash of their swords down with all of her might. "None of us are... What happened to 'never surrender'..?" She let out a harsh, yet quiet laugh. "Gone with the rest of Cocoon?"

In one fluid movement, Rosch had disentangled himself, and without another word, struck down against her blade once more, and then again, _again_, until they were both trading blows without pause. "You are the _last_ person to speak of such things..." He let out a ragged hiss when the soldiers started to approach, and he lurched forward with a savage, upward strike. "_Stand_ down!"

The troops themselves soon slowed to a halt, but Lightning's frenzied melee went on, clashing and searing down against his own weapon, one strike for another, until finally, he had landed a single blow across her shoulder.

Her eyes went wide, but she didn't hesitate for a single moment, blocking yet another strike from the side, before she ducked back, only to swipe forward with the end of her blade.

Rosch felt the fleeting sting, and then the sudden, heart-dropping sensation of the thick, reddened liquid that had trickled down across his upper chest.

He could still hear as Lightning shouted above the oncoming din, as the soldiers took that moment alone to disobey orders, charging out across the bow and into her line of fire.

She spun fast, slashing, lifting out her wings to blur at the air around her, blinding them with a flash of incredible white, and red, _thick_, flowing red...

With a pale, shaking hand, Rosch reached up to clutch at the side his neck, on the wound so carefully placed, as to only slit part of his throat, and yet it _bled,_ pouring on without pause, seeping out from between his tightened, calloused fingertips.

His thoughts drifted, then, back the child no taller than his shoulders, staring off into the distance despite the near-constant, yet quiet scolding.

"...Ceasefire." Rosch slowly rose to his feet, but he could only gaze through the frenzy of both armor and steel, beneath the constant, rapid cover of gunfire, smoke, and each white, blooded feather. "_CEASEFIRE_."

Without pause, she scrambled out across the deck, firing off a final, deafening shot into one of the upper propellers, before she had dropped, disappearing into the endless, inky dark.

* * *

The thick, leafy thicket rustled with each and every step they took, but the wolves that flanked them made barely any noise at all, creeping about over the darkened forest floor.

Snow reached up to bush a branch away from their path. "Are you _sure_ she said point four?" He kept his voice as low as he could possibly manage. "That's one hell of a distance to go, especially after all this..."

Serah kept at his side, and she soon stood up on her tiptoes, peering out over the mass of tangled branches and shrubs. "I'm positive." She shivered once, and pulled her jacket tighter. "She... She _told_ us to keep going; it sounded like an order."

"I think she wanted to get you guys out of there, out of danger." Snow's jaw suddenly went tight, and after a moment, he forced himself to breathe deep. "An airship... It would've had to have been one of PSICOM's." He held back a low, rumbling sound. "Had a run in with them today, myself..."

Serah walked on, holding her bow at the ready, but after a moment, she lowered it, tapping at the curve with her fingertip. "Mog, we could really use your help."

Nix lifted her head from a patch of nearby shrubbery. "Hey." Her nose began to twitch, and her eyes turned towards where Mog had just appeared, standing tall. "Sniff?"

Mog looked down at the lithe, canine figure, before he lowered to all fours as well, nostrils flaring. "Yeah."

Slowly, Nix wagged her tail. "Race?"

"Hey, we're looking for Light, not goofing around!" Snow pointed at the woods. "You can run ahead if you want, but don't stop looking."

Nix had raced off in an instant, and Mog soon followed after her, trailed by Stiria at the rear.

Serah reached up to push through the branches ahead of her, but the air in her lungs seemed to grow almost frigid, and her stomach began to lurch. "She's... She's gonna be alright."

Snow followed on beside her.

"She _will_ be." Serah clutched at her own hands, shaking her head back and forth. "She... She's just too-"

Snow walked forward, silently, and he pulled her into a steady hug.

"She's always..." Serah tried to fight back the moisture from her eyes, refusing to let her voice break. "She _always_ does this, Snow!"

He took a deep breath, and whispered. "...I know."

"She... She just takes it all, and gets the _crap_ kicked out of her, and-!" Serah bit down hard on her bottom lip, shaking her head where it was pressed against Snow's shoulder. "I... I must've aged a hundred years, just worrying about her."

Snow chuckled at that. "You don't look a day over two thousand."

Serah gently punched down against the center of his back, and she narrowed her eyes, forcing herself to wear a smile that could have just as easily turned into a sob. "We _have_ to keep moving..."

He nodded. "Hey, we could try to fly above the trees while the sun's still down." Snow leaned back, and with his thumb, reached out to brush away the liquid from beneath her eyes. "We'd just have to climb."

Slowly, Serah looked up at the winding, towering trees, and after a moment, she began to move.

* * *

There was a small flicker, just beneath her nails, and as Fang leaned back against her armchair, curled up beside a warm glass of cider, she couldn't help but lift up her hand, staring down into the bright, visible veins, just beneath the skin that kept them safe.

"_Fang!_" Vanille's voice rang out from a nearby room. "What the heck did I tell you about not separating the laundry?!"

"...Sorry, must've been distracted!" Fang quickly glanced back at her fingertips, gazing down at the odd, yet almost welcoming thrum that was echoing on beneath. "Or I didn't bother, 'cause it's pointless."

"I _heard_ that!"

"So shove it!" Fang almost chuckled to herself, but after a moment, her smile began to fade, and she narrowed her eyes, concentrating on the distant patterns that fluttered just beyond her line of vision.

"Fang, _this_ is why!" Vanille had stomped in, holding up a pale shirt that had been stained with patches of both blue and green, but when Fang didn't even turn around to look at her, she hurled the shirt forward, sending it to fall across Fang's lap.

"Hey, are you able see much of yours, Van?" Fang kept on staring down at her hand, turning it over before her eyes. "I get these... Little traces, but I can't seem to make it show up when I want it to."

Vanille soon walked over, before she leaned down, staring at the curve of Fang's hand. "I can definitely see some of yours." She looked back at herself. "But wait, didn't Light say it was more of a... You know, a physical thing? It might not matter if we can see it or not."

Slowly, Fang shrugged. "...Guess so." She set her hands back down on her lap, closing her eyes, even when she heard the sound of Vanille walking away. "Mind if I take a look at those pictures?"

Vanille called out from within the hallway. "Sure, just try to keep them all together! I don't want to lose any."

After a long moment, Fang opened her eyes, and she leaned forward to pick up the stack of paper that was resting atop the coffee table.

With the various sketches in hand, Fang began to stare at the image of a tall, winged figure who brandished a firearm, of sorts, before she turned over to the next one, which showed two creatures in flight. They were very small, and quite fuzzy, but for some reason, they didn't seem to need wings to keep them aloft.

Fang began to set aside each sketch after she had fully examined it, but when she turned to the image of a familiar woman, one who was facing the horizon with her gunblade sheathed, Fang couldn't help but smile.

When she turned to the next picture, which held the image of Lightning in uniform, standing at attention, Fang wondered what sort of life she had led before the fabled fall. She slowly traced her thumb over the top of the image, before she flipped to the next page.

There, Lightning had her weapon unsheathed, but somehow, her expression was much less serious than before... Even though another swordsman was locked against her in an obvious combative stance.

Fang brushed her fingertips over the edge of the paper. "You're an odd one, Lightning..." She chuckled to herself. "But... What could've happened to that smile?"

The drawings offered her no reply.

Fang slowly reached for her glass, whispering something under her breath. "...Suppose I'll just have to ask."

* * *

The breath left her lungs in a sharp, keening wheeze, and she staggered, falling down to her knees, clutching at her shoulder and the side of her chest.

White feathers were drifting down along the damp, mossy ground, scattered slightly by the breeze, but many of them had been broken, or worse, severed in half, rendering them quite immobile.

She stopped to breathe, but the thick red mist began to gather within her lungs, until it was sent hurtling with a sudden cough. The dark liquid started to dribble down her tongue, into the edge of her mouth, pooling just beside her teeth.

Her body slumped forward, but she quickly reached out, gripping, grasping at the tall, jagged ferns, and then at the sloped, crumbling ground that lay there, just beneath her, until her hands could hold no more.

Breathless, flat on her back, Lightning simply stared, gazing out into what seemed like an infinity of jagged branches, twisting and curling among themselves, until the had grown so close... So intertwined, that they were barely discernible from each other.

When her wings cried out beneath her, she did nothing to fold them away, or even to move them sideways, she merely grit her teeth, and slowly, closed her eyes.

The wind began to whisper in her ears, down throughout her splayed, tangled hair, and she gently tilted her head, listening, feeling the immediate chill that swept over her body in waves, until there was a sound, something _quiet_, yet enough to rouse open her eyes once again.

He bore a proud, golden gaze, and a sweeping, silver crown.

Lightning stared up at the sleek, powerful form, and at the long, tapered feathers that lay streamlined across his sides.

"This could have been avoided." He blinked once, and slowly tipped his head to the side, gripping the branch below him. "You've become rather reckless."

Lightning opened her mouth to speak, but a harsh, wracking cough rendered her silent, spilling blood across her chin.

"...Is this what you want them to see?" He lowered himself, perched in a way that his shadow would completely shelter her. "The little ones... They'll follow you, even now." His voice went low. "Would you lead them to the very same fate?"

"I'm not... _Dying_." Lightning spat, baring her teeth. "I've had-" She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe. "Worse than this."

"No, you're merely throwing yourself at the ground..." He began to step forward along the winding branch. "You might pick yourself up after, walk again, but it's grown slower every time... This punishment is needless."

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut. "I..." She reached up to cover her mouth, to wipe away the blur of scarlet. "I _failed _them, Odin."

The eagle stared back down at her, standing tall upon his perch. "Then do not fail again."

* * *

Nix trotted alongside the tree trunks with Mog at her heels, but after a brief moment of sniffing, she paused, lifting her nose even higher into the air. "Scent..."

Mog rose up on his hind legs. "It's Light?"

Nix inhaled, and her nose twitched back and forth. "_Blood_." Her muzzle brushed down against the tiny droplet, and beside it, there was a broken branch. "Light's."

From a short distance away, Stiria called out, barking into the frigid air. "Come here!"

Nix ran over immediately, followed by Mog, and before long, they were peering down upon the sight of a pale, broken feather, which drifted across the forest floor.

* * *

She was suddenly quite weightless, drifting soundlessly within the vast, infinite dark, and she could scarcely tell if her eyes were open or not.

There was the distant, yet deafening sound of steel, of screeching things, alive or otherwise, and the sound of desperate, battering blows, clashing back and forth, and back again, screaming against each other. It sent a shiver through her blood, as if she were really the one awake.

_I'm not..?_ The realization came to her as a sharp, yet fumbling lurch, and her eyes flew open with a gasp. _I'm not awake..._

Thin, almost invisible bits of ice were scraping against her skin, gripping, grasping at the ribbon that swirled around her, black and red, repeating, again, _again_, until she was suddenly falling, wind searing at her face.

Beneath it all, her heart beat steadily on, counting each and every breathless moment, until suddenly, out of nowhere, she could see _eyes_ within the dark.

Such sharp, burning things; they gazed out from far below, coiling, staring back into her own, with a strength she could barely comprehend.

Slowly, she held out her hand.

The lithe presence rose, and it darted out, racing to meet her, but with each soft, feathery touch that brushed out over her fingertips, up to her arms, she nearly froze at the sight of each long, glimmering talon, scraping into the darkness-

Her alarm clock shrieked.

Fang sat up with a shuddery jolt, gasping for breath, and for a moment, she could only shiver beneath the cold, lingering sweat, still reeling within the confines of her skin.

Across the room, at her windowsill, a few faint rays of sunlight were starting to peek in from the curtains, but her room was still dark, and the air was still cold... Far colder than the world beneath her covers.

Slowly, Fang reached up to rub at her eyes, and with a deep, shaky sigh, let her feet dangle over the edge of her bed.

* * *

The dry leaves rustled beside her ears, whispering on, speaking to her in an old language, one she could never hope to comprehend.

After a moment, her left wing began to twitch.

With a groan, she slid open her eyes, only to find that the night itself had been slipping away from her, fading back into the horizon.

The sun was slowly rising.

She fought away a shiver, then for a moment, she simply stared up into the trees, gazing at the empty perch above her. Her eyelids dropped, but when she felt a short, insistent flickering within her hands, she began to lift them.

The points were still sharp.

She began to flex her fingers, bending them down, mindful to not pierce her own skin, even if it was already cracked and blooded. She gazed at them, those gifts, hers, and hers alone... She slowly, carefully willed them away, back into her aura, alongside her wings.

Laying there, without a trace of her more avian features, Lightning stared up into the gathering glow, and she soon felt the slow, steady warmth of it drift down from between the branches, gracing her skin, below.

She could still hear the rustling, which was growing steadier with every passing moment, until suddenly, a large, fuzzy face poked itself out from within the forest. "Hey!"

Her gaze turned towards the wolf. "Hey, yourself." She closed her eyes again, breathing deep. "Just tell Snow I'll back in... Maybe a month or so." Lightning jumped, grimacing at the sudden, frantic licking at her cheek. "_Hey-_" She scowled, frowning. "_Fuck_, don't be gross!" She quickly shoved the wolf away, swatting at its muzzle with her hands. "His familiars just _had_ to be these-"

The wolf barked at Lightning. "Snow!"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "...Yes, genius."

Stiria sat down. "_Family_."

After a long, silent moment, she started to lift her hand, hovering just between herself and the wolf, before it moved forward to nuzzle her, and slowly, Lightning began to stroke her fingers in between each tuft of fur.

"I guess we are... Sort of." Lightning curled her fingertips, and watched as each point, each _talon_ began to reform, black as night, and as sharp as broken glass. "But you're still just a dumb pile of fluff."

Stiria wagged her tail.


	11. Fever Dream

"Light!" The steady rustling, the distant calling... Each and every sound, they were all too loud, happening all at once, and Lightning squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. "_Lightning!_"

She could hear something drop down beside her, which immediately tugged at her shoulder, so Lightning let out a hiss, a harsh, full body sound that sent her lungs into tiny, shuddering spasms.

Her visitor, whose voice could only belong to Serah, jumped back. "Light?! ...Did that hurt? I'm sorry." Serah slowly reached out to trace her hand beside the jagged cuts, hovering just an inch away from the injuries themselves. "But we _need_ to get you out of here, Light..."

Lightning forced her eyes to open, blearily gazing up at her sister's expression, and she soon found a mix of anger, relief and urgency, but overall... _Fear_.

There was another voice, probably Snow's, which began to call out from a short distance away. "You've got her?"

Serah called back. "Yeah! But I might just need some help, here..." She slowly narrowed her eyes, clenching her hands into fists. "Light, you've lost a lot of blood, just _look_ at you..."

A long, heavy gash lay across her upper shoulder, while her jacket lay torn in several places, further down beneath the skin. Over at the side of her chest, just beside one of her lungs, there was a circular wound, oozing a bubbling, viscous liquid, the likes of which could only be described as dark, coagulated blood.

Serah lowered her voice to a whisper. "I need you to try and stand up; lean on my shoulder, okay?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "Serah... Serah, I messed up."

Serah almost let out a laugh, but it was a dry, bitter sound that left her throat. "Yeah... You should've run away with us, Light."

"Not... Not _that-_" Lightning's vision went dark, and then back again, gazing up at the distant, rising sun. "_You_ were.. I _had_ to, Serah..."

Snow crossed the clearing with a frown, gazing somewhat skyward. "Serah, we need to go."

"I'm _trying_." Serah began to lean down, and to try and wrap her arms beneath Lightning's shoulders, but as soon as she had lifted her slightly, Lightning turned away, dropping back to the ground.

"Serah... Need to _tell_ you-" Lightning felt a steady jolt go down her spine, and the sudden sensation of thick, flowing liquid began to spill down, out and over her back, before suddenly... The world went dark.

"Lightning!" The voices were so very distant, and she felt herself go slowly, utterly numb.

Snow had swept down, tearing off his own jacket to press against the wide, open wound, just between Lightning's shoulder blades. "How is she still..?" He bit his own tongue, and slowly started to lean down, before he lifted Lightning up into his arms, frowning at how low her temperature was. "Let's _go_."

Serah raced after him, and together, they began to navigate the rocky terrain, interspersed with the many thick tree-roots, boulders, and towering crags that kept the forest floor so sheltered.

"She feels _cold_, Serah." He kept his voice low, while his gaze darted about the sky above them, between the many branches. "If she's lost too much blood..."

"Then what do we do?!" Serah hurried to keep up with him. "...It's almost an _hour's_ walk back home! We need to find an outpost, one with medical equipment-"

Lightning whispered, but it was hoarse, and barely audible. "I'm not... Not _dying._"

"Light!" Serah sped up to glare at her, crossing her own arms. "You got shot in the _lung_, bled out all over the ground-!" She narrowed her eyes at the limpness of her sister's arms, and further, at the pale hue her skin had taken. "...Can you not be stubborn with us for even just _one_ minute of your life?!"

Slowly, Lightning opened her eyes. "Put me down."

Snow shook his head. "You're not doing great, sis..." He almost smiled, glancing away from her. "I _know_ so, because normally, you'd have kicked my ass halfway across the woods for something like this."

Lightning hissed under her breath.

Serah spoke up again, glancing around at the forest. "Enough bickering... Okay, if rendezvous point four is located just between five and two, the nearest place would be Outpost Tau."

"By the old riverbed?" Snow followed her gaze. "I thought that was Outpost Theta..."

Lightning closed her eyes, forcing back a ragged cough. "It's _Tau_." She began to shiver for a moment, and her eyelids slowly drifted back, just enough to watch the branches pass by above. "Outpost Tau..." Lightning briefly thought back to each of the thin, blurry lines that she could only remember as long-forgotten code... Long lost to the general public, in lieu of more simple numerals to remember. "We'd have better luck over at Upsilon... It has more packets of hemocon."

Serah shuddered, and she almost ducked down beneath the sound of a distant, soaring airship. "We just don't have enough time."

Lightning fell quiet for a long moment, but once they had passed beneath an ancient, leaning tree, and began to entire a long, narrow valley, she began to speak again. "They're looking for us..."

"Light, we can't worry about that right now." Serah reached up to touch Lightning's wrist, but she almost drew back at the cool, clammy temperature of her skin. "Just hold on... And breathe, okay?"

Slowly, Lightning nodded. "We'll... We'll see the doctors real soon."

Serah's blood went cold. "Don't _joke_ about this, Light."

Lightning tried to focus her eyes on Serah, but they were quickly drifting back, flickering both open and shut. "We'll get this... Fixed up."

"Wait, what's she talking about?" Snow braced himself against a nearby tree-trunk, edging his way down into the lower, forested valley.

Serah glanced away. "...She's delirious."

"We'll figure it all out..." Lightning's arms went limp, dangling back and forth with step that Snow took. "I'll finish it... Your focus."

Blinking away the moisture from her eyes, Serah broke off into a hurried run, until she was standing face to face with a rough, ragged slab of rock, hidden just beneath the roots of a great tree. "Snow, bring her in, c'mon!" She quickly held out her own hand, channeling a sharp burst of magic against the stony surface, which sent it slowly, gradually into motion.

Snow ducked down to pass beneath the wide, mossy archway, and as he did, it took more than a moment for his vision to adjust to the dim, musty atmosphere of the little cavern, carved straight into the side of a cliff.

"Stand still for a sec." The glow around Serah's palm intensified, and the rock began to shift again, rolling back in place, which sealed them both in utter darkness. "Okay..." Slowly, her fingertips came alight once more with a tiny, flickering flame. "...You need to get her sitting down; I'll go find the medical supplies."

Snow nodded, and he carefully stepped forward, until he was able to see the tiny, flat cot beside one of the stony walls. "I'm putting you down for a sec, Light."

She spoke nothing in return, but after a slight nod, she allowed herself to be set down against the bunk.

"Hey, Serah's gonna be right back..." Snow glanced over at the little alcove, where the pale firelight from Serah's hand was burning. "And I know that you know a lot about patching people up, so whatever you can say to help us with-"

Lightning almost seemed to be staring off into the distance, out into the darkness, and her breath came in tiny bursts. "I... I _will_, she can't..." Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling. "She _can't_... He asked me-"

Snow moved back when Serah rushed over with an armful of supplies, carrying a tiny candle in her other hand.

"Light, _look_ at me." Serah began to set down the various rolls of gauze, fabric, and several bottles of swirling liquid, before she reached over to grip at Lightning's hand. "_Lightning!_"

After a moment of silence, Serah's shoulders began to droop. "Snow, can you get me the rest of the antiseptic?"

She watched him walk over to the alcove, and once his footsteps had slowed, Serah lowered her voice into a sharp, yet quiet whisper. "..._Claire!_"

Slowly, Lightning's eyes went wide. "You- You said..."

"I know... I _know_." Serah squeezed Lightning's hand, before she reached for one of the bottles, uncapping it with a tiny grunt. "I promised, I promised I'd never say it, but I need you to _listen_ to me right now."

Lightning's eyes still gazed off into nothing, but after a moment, she spoke again. "I haven't been... Claire, in... So many years."

"I know, Light." With a quiet sigh, Serah began to pour a bit of translucent liquid into a piece of gauze, before she lowered it down against one of the cuts on her arm, ignoring the way Lightning snarled in response. "Hey, you remember the way that mom taught us to fix up scrapes?" She pressed down into the wound, making sure that the liquid had fully cleansed it. "You'd always-"

Lightning furrowed her brow. "...Always scold you for it."

Serah began to smile. "Even if they healed quick..." She reached for a slim tube of ointment, before she squeezed a little bit of it onto a different piece of gauze. "You'd tell me not to be so reckless."

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden sting, beneath the harrowing chill that rolled down her arm, before she had to bite back a tiny cry when Serah bound the wound tight, wrapping it beneath a bandage.

Snow soon returned with another bottle and some packages of dried food, which he set down beside the little cot. "Hey Serah? I've never even seen a transfusion done before.. Do you really think she's going to need one?" He was eyeing at the square, plastic containers of liquid, each filled with a rich, darkened red. "I mean, she _did_ loose a lot of blood..."

Serah looked down at the box of syringes beside her feet. "Seraphim are lucky... We don't die easily." She began to apply the ointment to another wound she had cleaned. "Light and I, we used to work in a nursing clinic over school-break, and it was one of the first things they taught us..." She soon tore open a tiny package of antiseptic wipes. "Our auras, they really do a number on both the immune system, and overall healing process."

"Explains why you guys know so much about this stuff." Snow sat down with a quiet sigh. "Anything I can do to help?"

Serah handed him a narrow, tubular canteen. "Wash... Hands and wrists."

Snow held up the container for a moment, before he opened it above one of his hands, and poured out a tiny bit of foul-smelling liquid, but it didn't stop him from scrubbing it over his skin, cleansing his hands of bacteria.

"Light, you've gotta turn over." Serah helped Lightning move, bracing her own arm against the cot. "The worst of it, it's... They really hit your back hard."

Lightning grimaced, and she snarled under her breath. "_They-_" Her voice trailed off for a moment, hissing once Serah had started to disinfect another of her wounds. "Tried to get them... They got at my wings."

Her skin was cold to the touch, but Serah kept on with a methodical, practiced grace, sealing some of the cuts with medical tape, above smaller patches of gauze, but when she looked down at the worst of her wounds, Serah had to pause and gesture back at Snow. "Hey, Turn around, okay? Maybe see if we have any sweaters or something to cover her after."

Lightning shivered as her shirt was pulled back, and then another, biting sting seeped down into her muscles, but she grit her teeth, trembling, until it finally, finally faded down.

"Sorry..." Serah smoothed a bit of ointment over the deep, welling cut, attempting to stem the flow of blood. "You must've opened this one up again after moving, back there."

Lightning nodded, and she pressed the side of her head down into the surface of the cot. "Pain killers?"

Serah shook her head. "Not when you're this low on fluid... Sorry." She set down a long strip of fabric against the wound, before she sealed it off with more tape. "Okay, just _one_ more, Light... The one that hit your lung."

With a slow, yet shuddering breath, Lightning braced herself. "My aura, it must've stopped the flow, the _blood_... I'm alive, because-" She coughed, which sent long, sudden spasms off into her rib-cage, up to her upper chest, and then throat, yet not a sound would leave her lips.

"...You're not out of the woods yet." Serah grit her teeth, and she readied the bottle of fluid. "We... We _can't_ risk this getting infected."

Lightning forced her eyes to slide open, but for a moment, she could see only the small, flickering shadows cast off by the flame, before slowly, she began to nod. "_Do it._"

Beyond the thick, stony walls, her scream was barely audible.

* * *

Lightning swore that it had been _fire_ pouring down into the wound, seeping throughout her chest; it was a terrible, molten sear that had shaken her to the core, sapping away any strength that she might have retained.

The tiny candle flickered on, illuminating the needle which punctured her skin, just between where her forearm and upper arm met.

She watched each of the red drops drip, flowing down into the small, translucent tube, and then out into her veins, spreading what felt like cement into her body... Or something just as weighted.

"Light?" Serah was sitting beside the cot, monitoring the flow of artificial blood. "If you need to sleep for a while, it's okay."

Lightning exhaled, but it tasted like chemicals. "I'm... I'm sorry."

Serah leaned back against the rocky wall, which was coated in a soft, darkened moss. "Just... No more risks like this; we _need_ you, Light."

"I'm..." Lightning felt her eyelids droop. "I'm a hypocrite, Serah."

Serah tried to smile. "I think we all have our moments."

Lightning began to curl up against herself, all except for her arm, which was still positioned against the side of the cot. "You told me, last night... That you wanted to go with Fang and Vanille, to that festival, at the park."

Serah stared into the tiny, wavering candlelight.

"I was... _Mad_, at myself." Lightning stared down at the bandages, strewn beneath the tears of her shirt, and she took a long, shaky breath. "Because I wanted to see it, too."

Slowly, Serah reached up to push back a strand of her own hair, wiping away the traces of sweat from her brow. "You don't have to take everything on alone." She reached over to squeeze at Lightning's shoulder, the uninjured one. "When I was... When _we_ were trying to find out my focus, you never would have let me face it without you; you were _always_ there, helping me through it."

Lightning tried forcing her eyes open again, but ever so slowly, they started to close.

"Even when... Even when it got to the worst." Serah hugged at her own knees, tucking her chin down beside her neck, so that her words were almost muffled. "You told me that we'd fix it up, just like when I'd get scrapes or bruises..." She reached over to touch the white, frozen brand upon her upper arm, and the cavern was completely silent for a moment. "...You wouldn't let me become a Cie'th."

Lightning's eyes fluttered open.

Serah continued, speaking soft. "I'm stronger, Light... I can _help_ you now."

Lightning slowly turned her head, and for a while, simply stared at the space between the tiny, flickering flame, and the sister that she had grown so proud of, who had grown in her own way, just as well. "...I'm counting on it."

Serah began to smile. "Then I won't let you down." She closed her own eyes, and started to breathe deep. "I think we should both get some rest... Snow should be back before too long."

Lightning nodded against the cot. "Have you slept since we got back?"

Serah shook her head. "No, first I made sure Hope got back home safe, then I asked Snow if he'd come and help me find out if _you_ were okay... But when you weren't there, at the rendezvous point, we decided to head out and search."

"...Then you should sleep." Lightning closed her eyes again. "I know I'm going to."

Serah kept quiet for a while, merely glancing at the candlelight, and at the stone beneath her feet, but after she had glanced back over at Lightning, and seen the way that her breathing had gone slow, easing back and forth... Only then did she start to whisper. "I... I had a bad dream, the other night."

Lightning was completely silent.

"I, I dreamt-" Serah almost frowned. "I mean, I know that it wasn't real or anything, but..." She slowly tipped her head back, resting it against the mossy wall. "Do you ever have dreams where you do things, but it doesn't feel like yourself..? Like you're almost someone else entirely?"

For a while, Serah thought that Lightning must have already drifted off to sleep, but only after she herself had started to doze off, did she hear a low, muted reply.

"More often than not."

* * *

Hope watched them speak, clamoring about in a jumble of quick, hurried tones. He had taken shelter behind the front window of his house, little more than re-purposed glass, most likely scavenged from some old ruin. Even as he listened close, he could scarcely hear what they were talking about, but when he caught sight of the worried lines on their faces, the way the some of them were pacing about, breaking away from the rest of the group...

"Enough!" Now _there_ was a voice that he recognized; it was one of the oldest Seraphim that had settled down in New Bodhum, a man who went only by the name of 'Lanner'. He spoke again, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "...We are _far_ above such pettiness_._"

Hope leaned over to press his ear to the doorway, listening to the old man speak.

"Now, you lot would panic if a blind gorgonopsid itself wandered in here! Gods, I swear..." Lanner soon cleared his throat, and all went silent for a while. "We have precautionary etiquette for this very reason, friends... Should our friends not return by tomorrow morning, a search party will be formed, and we will precede from there on out!"

Another, younger voice rang out. "With all these airships flying past?! We'd be picked off in seconds... We're, _we're_ sitting ducks, even right here!"

Lanner called out again. "No! That sort of vehicle, just look at the equipment on next one that goes past." Hope could hear the sound of his cane tapping against the ground. "It's tracking signs of residual aura, and they have no idea that we're settled down here..." He paused for a moment. "They'd have to enter the canyon itself just to pick up a trace."

"Then if we stay here, we're safe..?" Hope recognized that voice as well; it was a mother of three, who ran one of the tiny storefronts on the ground level of the settlement. "But wait, for how long? We can hold out for maybe... Two, three weeks with the current supply."

"One worry at a time!" Lanner's voice went a bit lower. "Now, we must locate our young friends, but if that should fail, we will move on to the next concern, and then the next." His cane echoed against the stony, canyon floor. "But I suggest we all go back to our own business until then."

Short, quiet murmurs traveled about the crowd, but after a while, they dispersed once again, until the noise level was almost back to the way it had been beforehand.

Hope slowly moved his head back from beside the door, and for a moment, he hovered his fingertips around the tiny handle that led outside, before he pushed it open as quietly as he could.

When he looked around at the village center, he caught sight of a small band of Seraphim, talking among themselves. One of them, who looked to be a tall, middle-aged woman with a long, jagged scar across her nose and cheek; Hope could only assume that she was leading the conversation.

"I'm _telling_ you, Russ... The Sanctum's got it in their heads that we're still out here, and they want _payback_." The woman had short, dark hair, almost as jagged as her scar. "I mean, what the hell else could've happened to them?"

The tall, massive man, who Hope guessed was 'Russ', began to speak in return. "Then _let_ them come... We will teach the same lesson twice."

The woman replied with a wry laugh. "Hey, we only won that one because of the circumstances... They won't fall for the same tricks again."

Another of the group suddenly spoke; he was a younger man, a little bit olden Hope's age. "Wait, the great Ceryle's out of tricks? Say it ain't so!"

"_Shut_ up." Ceryle, still clearly on top of her game, swiftly elbowed him in the stomach. "I've still got plenty of tricks up my sleeve, but we're gonna need a _lot_ of them to get through all of this in one piece." She suddenly glanced over to the side, catching sight of where Hope was listening to them. "Oi, kiddo! You were just off with Farron, weren't you?"

Slowly, Hope walked up to the group. "I was, yeah." He glanced between each member of the group, two of which had said nothing so far. "Hey which scouting team are you guys on? I mean, I've seen you around before... You sometimes work with Lightning, don't you?"

Ceryle smiled at him, and the gesture made the end of her scar, the part on her cheek, crease slightly. "Team number three, at your service!" Hope tried not to stare at the way that some her nasal cavity was visible, torn away by whatever had wounded her in the first place. "Although, before all this mess, we went by a slightly different name..." After a moment, she shrugged, turning around to face the canyon walls. "That's all in the past, I'm afraid."

Hope followed her gaze. "I was just wondering, if you guys were... What you _might_ be planning to do, if Light-" He slowly bit down on the edge of his tongue. "She told us, me and her sister, to run, but... If she's _hurt_, out there..."

Russ spoke up. "A woman like her... Will not die easily." His voice was like an ancient stone, rumbling against the dusty earth. "Children must not worry of these things."

"I'm _not_-" Hope looked away, down at his feet. "She's been teaching me how to fight... I'm not _that_ helpless."

"Really?" One of the other Seraphim, a thin, lanky woman with long, braided hair, stepped forward. "You look a little too scrawny to fight, but hey, I've seen stranger stuff..." She reached out to tap at Hope's shoulder. "...So the two of you are close? Enough to get lessons."

Hope glanced up at her, and then at the strange, artificial markings at her wrist, which looked almost like his own. "I think that she... She just wants to make sure I can look out for myself." He looked down at his own arm, along the lines of black, implanted ink. "But... I want to help _her_, now... If she's out there, and needs help, I mean, I can't just sit here!"

For a moment, Russ and Ceryle shared a glance, and they almost seemed to smile at each other.

Slowly, Ceryle knelt down to look Hope in the eye. "Hey, think you can keep a little secret, kiddo?"

"My name is Hope." He tried to stand up straight, staring her back as mightily as he could manage. "And if this 'secret' helps me get Light back home, and safe..."

The fourth member of the group, a diminutive man with small, pale eyes, finally began to speak. "Well, how well can you fight?"

Slowly, Hope grinned. "Enough to land a hit on Lightning herself."

Ceryle passed him something, from one of her pockets. "Welcome to team Paradigm."

Hope looked down at the slim, folded knife, and he tightened his fingertips around it.

* * *

Beneath the winding branches, Snow gazed out from beneath the wide, shadowy leaves. "More of them..?" With narrow eyes, he stared up at the symmetrical trails of pale, rising vapor, left behind by a passing fleet of airships.

At his side, Nix was crouching, nostrils flared. "Going to fight?"

Slowly, Snow shook his head. "No, not if we don't have to..." He reached up to cover his brow with the edge of his hand, against the glaring sunlight. "These are PSICOM Revenants... Best of the bunch."

Stiria began to shake out her fur from across the clearing. "They hurt Light?"

"They did." Snow nodded. "But we're in no shape to pick a fight with one of those... We've just gotta get her home, and them figure something out with the rest of 'em." After a moment of silence, he almost laughed. "Just look at me, being all cautious... No plan was a good plan, back in the day."

Nix bore her teeth at a distant, drifting passerby. "Not today."

Snow nodded again. "Definitely not today."

* * *

She remembered, then; she had been sitting, deep within the whispering grass. Her feet had touched the tranquil water, just below the shoreline, cooling them from the light above.

The man had been there, right beside her; he had stretched his arms out, savoring the last few rays of rich, gentle warmth. "...Got something to tell you, if you're okay with listening."

She almost rolled her eyes. "Dad, just talk."

He chuckled at her. "Just making sure I won't bore you..." He stared out over the calmly rippling lake, into the warm, hazy distance. "Odin's been behaving lately, right?"

She gave him a look. "When has he ever not behaved?"

Her father shrugged. "I just... I haven't been able to keep a close eye on him." He smiled at the way her expression went blank, and then shifted. "Oh, suppose I haven't told you... He used to be mine, before you were born."

She felt a tiny twinge, right within her chest, as if her heart had suddenly grown a will of its own. "Are you serious? How is that possible..?"

He had leaned over to dip his hands beneath the water's surface, but as he lifted them once again, each droplet shuddered, before it took to the air itself, scattering as he parted his fingers. "I made a promise, when your mother first told me that we were going to have you." He watched the droplets slowly hover, shimmering beneath the low, fiery light. "I knew I would do anything in my power to protect you, Claire... And I made the very same promise when your sister was born."

She began to look down at her feet, still beneath the pale, glassy surface. "Was Mog yours, too?"

He shook his head. "No, some people are just born with them." His short, spiky hair drifted slightly in the wind, before he began to lean back, staring up into the clouds, and beyond that, the city opposite to theirs, far, far above. "I wanted to ask you for the same promise."

She looked over at his eyes, the very same color as hers. "What do you mean?"

"...Protect her, if I'm ever unable to do it." His voice was so far, so quiet, but she could still make out each word. "_Promise_ me."

There was a long, glimmering sword in her hands, resting above the inky darkness, but her feet were drifting, so high, so _far_ above the world.

She saw a sharp, searing flash, and the night fled for only a millisecond, but it was enough to illuminate the entire sky.

Lightning could barely see their faces, and her mother's wings were fading, cradling her for one last moment, before they were completely, entirely gone.

There was a crack, splintering in the ice, gathering fast, and yet she stood stark still, even when the air rushed out from her lungs in a terrible, single moment of sound.

The beast stared back into her, teeth gleaming beneath the stars, those tiny, searing dots of light that covered its hide from head to toe.

Only a single, silent word left her lips, but it was almost more than she alone could manage. "_Ragnarok_."

* * *

A bit of stray sunlight danced about the village center, and Hope stared at it from behind the tiny window, scanning for anyone that might still be walking around the settlement itself.

"Aw hell... Is this really all we have?" Ceryle was clipping a number of pistols to her belt, before she reached for a box of dusty ammunition. "Man, what I wouldn't do for a genuine gunsmith... I'd settle for a smith in general, these days."

"Well there's the trouble with us going independent..." It was the younger man of the group, the one only slightly older than Hope. "Play by their rules, and you get all the stuff you need... Not a whole lot to do guarding civilians, though." He twirled a short, wooden weapon between his fingers. "Or being a sissy little tyrant, but that's whole other story."

Hope glanced back over his shoulder. "Hey, I didn't catch your name, before..."

"It's Gusco, or just Gus!" The young man smiled at him. "Nice to meet you."

Hope nodded. "Likewise." He began to grip the knife a bit tighter within his jacket pocket, but he dared not to unsheathe it yet.

Gus stood up, jabbing a thumb in the direction of Ceryle. "That's boss lady, Ceryle, and the big guy over there's called Russ."

Russ appeared to ignore the mention of his name, instead continuing to polish along the edge of a worn, yet sturdy looking hammer.

Gus pointed at the remaining two of the group. "And they're Ennie and Garret, big sis, little bro."

Hope slowly waved at them both. "So... What's the plan, here? Just head out and look for them?"

Ceryle nodded at him, from where she was polishing a set of slim, yet lengthy knives. "Yup, Garret knows this fun little trick... Masks the aura of a person, just so long as they don't make their presence too obvious."

"It's just a sort of cloaking magic, really..." Garret was picking at a hangnail upon his index finger. "With a little twist, of course."

Ennie spoke up. "A _little_ twist? It took you years to cook that one up..." She quietly set down a simply _massive_ longbow, which stood almost as tall as herself. "Without that, I'd hardly be any use in an all-out fight, and you know it."

"So... Get a lighter bow?" Garret sighed, and he glanced over at the window. "Hey, are we almost ready to go? The longer we sit here talking, the more time they're out there without backup."

Ceryle began to strep a leather, belt-like contraption across her chest, which held each and every one of her knives within reaching distance. "If the two of you keep on bickering, we might still be here when they come walking up the front doorstep..." She rose back up to her feet, clapping Russ on the back as she did so. "Look, that thing's not getting any _shiner_, big guy... Let's get a move on."

Russ stood up as well, hefting the great hammer above his shoulder.

"You ready, kiddo?" Ceryle was staring down at him with a gentle smile on her face. "Listen, if you think that this might be too much for you-"

Hope shook his head. "I can help." He began to turn towards the doorway, steeling the muscles in his body, and then even further, down into his aura. "I mean... If anything, we're just _scouting_ around, you know..." Hope reached over to push the door open. "Making sure that-"

There was a long, weathered cane, held steady against the dusty earth. "I don't recall any reconnaissance missions being planned so late, tonight..."

Ceryle stepped quickly forward, in front of Hope. "You just move along, old man... We're not gonna wait here for them to show up in pieces."

Slowly, Lanner reached up to tap at his bearded chin, staring back at Ceryle with a fierceness to rival her own. "...You would need the approval from a founder of this village to officially scout for us." He kept quiet for a long moment, before a tiny, yet contented smile crept over his face. "Or perhaps an escort."

Gusco spoke up from behind them. "Uh... No offense, grandpa, but-"

He went quiet when Lanner's cane went fully aloft, before a sudden, yet quiet screech of metal cut through the evening air.

"For a race as _long-lived_ as ours..." Lanner's gaze held a certain fire, a deep, gathering thing, and he lifted his bladed staff with a long, heavy sigh. "I suppose you'll just need to learn respect for your elders."

From where he was standing, Russ smiled.

Lanner turned. "We'll leave immediately."

Hope watched as his companions began to file out into the village center, and despite the fluttering in his stomach, or even the steady, shivering sensation in his arms, followed after them as fast as he could muster.

* * *

The candlelight had dimmed to a slow, feeble burn, casting only the palest of light against the damp, cavernous walls.

From where she was resting, Serah woke to the sound of deep, steady rumbling, but she only stirred when a faint ray of sunlight peered in throughout the darkened cavern.

"...Serah?" Heavy footfalls crossed the stony floor, before Snow knelt down with low, shadowed eyes. "It's gotten dark enough to take a try at it... Is she gonna be okay to travel?"

Serah blinked away the sleep from her eyes, and glanced over to where Lightning was still sprawled, almost motionless upon the cot. "Light, you awake?"

There was no answer.

Snow leaned back, looking down at where they had stashed away the medical equipment. "I can carry her again... If she isn't well enough to punch me for it."

Serah rose to her feet, ambling out through the darkness, over to where the tiny bunk was standing. "Light? You need to wake up, okay?" She almost began to sigh at the slow, if uneven breaths that shook Lightning's throat. "_Please_, Light."

With a gentle shake to her shoulder, Lightning roused. "Hmm?"

"Hey... We're going to try and head home, Light." Serah reached for her bow, stowing over her chest and shoulders. "There's been... We saw a whole lot of airships on the way over, so we're going to try and use the night to our advantage."

Lightning opened her eyes, slowly, taking in the darkness of the room. "...Where are we?"

Serah sat down beside her. "Outpost Tau... Don't you remember?" She patted at Lightning's shoulder. "You were a little loopy, back there... And you lost a lot of blood."

With a groan, Lightning soon tried to sit up, but she nearly stumbled forward, and had to brace her hand against the edge of the cot. "I remember... Getting messed up." She ground her teeth together as the pain came rushing back, down throughout her entire body. "_Rosch_, he was there."

Serah's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?" She glanced over at Snow, sharing a look that bordered on disbelief. "If he's looking for us..."

Snow knelt down to help Lightning stand. "Then we've gotta _move_, right now."

Lightning swallowed a bitter laugh. "I messed him up, too..."

Snow smiled to himself. "I'd be surprised if you didn't." With each step they took, Lightning using his arm for support, the rocky door seemed nearer and nearer, but it was still a long walk away. "Light, if you'll promise not to hate me for it..."

Lightning took a moment to glare down at her injuries. "I can _walk_."

Serah stepped over to the stone wall, and she lifted up her hand with the same glow as before, which sent it rumbling away, yet again. "Light, it's okay if you can't."

They passed beneath the archway in silence, down to the bed of moss that covered the entire ravine, but it was a long moment before Lightning finally paused, catching her breath.

"No, I..." Lightning bit down on a curse, before she lifted her hand. "Odin."

He appeared with little more than a whisper, and the air left his wings with a gentle rush.

"Thanks." Lightning reached up for his neck, but the deep, curving wound upon her shoulder cried out, burning again all at once, and she was sent reeling back.

"Hey, let me help?" Snow stepped up to stand beside her. "Please, Light."

After a moment, Lightning nodded, and with little more than a subdued grimace, she allowed herself to be lifted onto Odin's back. "He won't be able to fly, carrying me like this... We'll have to walk."

The great eagle started to move without hesitation, leading the way down into the wide, forested valley.

Serah walked on beside them, and she slowly reached for Snow's hand, despite the distant, rumbling roar of an airship.

Snow narrowed his eyes at the horizon. "It's gonna be a _long_ trip back..."

* * *

A/N: Hooray for references to a video game that probably _no one_ on this site has ever even heard of, much less played.

In other news, I still hate making (what I would actually hesitate to call original characters). But hey... The game itself has a really sparse canon, at least in that way. (I can't even bust out the folks from NORA just yet, because _spoilers_, they're gonna be pretty important later.)

So, don't get too attached to these buggers. They might just be getting the axe... Depends on if they become interesting or not.


End file.
